Applying newer parameter Ret‐He (reticulocyte haemoglobin equivalent) to assess latent iron deficiency (LID) in blood donors–study at a tertiary care hospital in India

Background It is important to detect Latent Iron Deficiency (LID) to prevent development of an overt iron deficiency anemia. Early detection is difficult by using conventional hematological and biochemical parameters. Soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) is presently the gold standard for diagnosing LID. We evaluated the utility of Reticulocyte Hemoglobin Equivalent (Ret‐He), a newer hematological parameter, to predict LID in blood donors as compared to sTfR. Methods This was a randomized prospective study performed on 501 donor samples over a period of three‐months. All donors were included after administering medical history questionnaire and a brief physical examination in accordance with national guidelines (Hb ≥12.5). Additional samples were collected during donation according to the institutional standard operating procedure (SOP). All hemograms were performed on the Sysmex XE‐2100 analyzer which included Ret‐He. sTfR was measured in batch assays by ELISA (Biovendor, Czech Republic). Ret He