![]() pulses and beans - in particular baked beans, chickpeas and lentils.breakfast cereals - some cereals are fortified with iron.fish - including mackerel, sardines, salmon, pilchards and shellfish.You can boost iron levels by trying to eat a well-balanced diet.Īlthough iron from non-meat sources is more difficult for the body to absorb, people following a well-balanced vegetarian or vegan diet should get enough iron in their diet.Įvery day, try to eat three portions of food in this list which are good sources of iron: In the UK, the major sources of iron are meat and meat-based foods, cereals and vegetables. You give away a lot of iron when you donate blood.Īs iron is found in a variety of foods, you can usually get enough from a balanced diet. Iron is very important because it helps your body to make haemoglobin. If you are unable to donate on 3 consecutive occasions then you will be withdrawn as a donor. We hope that next time you come to give blood your haemoglobin will be above our ‘cut-off’ level and that you will not be disappointed again. You will have been asked to leave at least 3 months before your next donation to allow your haemoglobin to reach a higher level. Testing procedure – while we take great care with our test on the session, occasionally it underestimates the amount of haemoglobin in the blood.If your iron stores are low, the haemoglobin may fall below normal (or below the donation level). Iron – we all need iron to make haemoglobin.Variation between people – some of us just normally have a ‘low-ish’ level.Why haemoglobin levels might be too low to donate If you donate platelets you also lose a certain number of red cells each time, and after a number of donations your iron stores and Hb can drop, so we still need to check you Hb levels before donation. To ensure your safety we need your Hb to be at least 125g/l for women and 135g/l for men prior to donation. We set a fairly high 'cut-off' level because we want to be sure that your haemoglobin will not drop below normal after you have donated. Men usually have higher levels than women. Haemoglobin levels vary from person to person. Haemoglobin, or 'Hb', is a protein found in the red blood cells that carries oxygen around your body and gives blood its red colour. Every time you come to give blood or platelets we check your haemoglobin level. ![]()
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