Decreased levels of ferritin, mild thrombocytosis, and increased erythropoietin are sequential events among frequent plateletpheresis donors: Implication for a ferritin screen

It is generally recognized that repeat apheresis increases the risk for iron deficiency, thus may impact on the blood homeostasis. With regard to donor vigilance, we clarified the mid- to long-term effects of plateletapheresis by comparing the most frequent donors with the first-time ones in hematological and biochemical tests.Levels of erythropoietin (EPO), hemoglobin (Hb) and ferritin were analyzed in double-unit (500 mL whole blood or 6 × 10Regardless of the donation experience in whole blood or plateletpheresis, iron deficiency (serum ferritin concentrations15 μg/L) was identified in all earnest cohorts. The ferritin means were significantly lower in plateletpheresis groups, with the lowest values in the enthusiastic group. EPO levels showed a significant inverse correlation with ferritin (p = 0.015, r = -0.224). Long-term earnest donors had the lowest iron stores accompanied by a later thrombocytosis and a final increase in EPO was revealed.Regular ferritin screens are crucial to ensure a high level of donor health protection.