Prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia among blood donors in Sokoto, North Western, Nigeria

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and socio-demographic factors associated with iron deficiency anaemia among blood donors in Sokoto, North Western, Nigeria using a combination of haemoglobin haematocrit and serum ferritin measurements. Methods: One hundred and fifty consecutively recruited whole blood donors, comprising of 148 (98.7%) family replacement donors and 2 (1.3%) voluntary non-remunerated donors aged 18-60 years and mean age 39±21 years constituted the subjects for this study. The full blood count was carried out using Mythic 22 CT fully automated haematology analyser (Orphee SA, Switzerland). Serum was tested for ferritin using a human ferritin enzyme immunoassay kitACCU Diag™ ELISA Ferritin kit (Diagnostic Automation/Cortez Diagnostic Inc. California, USA). Results: The prevalence of anaemia (haemoglobin<11.0 g/dL) was evident in 24 (16%) and iron deficiency anaemia (serum ferritin<12 ng/mL+haemoglobin