Utility of Reticulocyte Hemoglobin Equivalent (Ret-He) Measurement for Detecting Iron Deficiency in Blood Donors

Key Points

• This research aims to evaluate the efficacy of reticulocyte hemoglobin equivalent (RET-He) in detecting iron deficiency before blood donation.
• Assessed 523 blood donor candidates with no whole blood donation history within the past year.
• Measured RET-He levels using a hematology analyzer at blood donation sites.
• Evaluated correlation between RET-He and serum ferritin levels to determine detection capabilities.
• RET-He significantly decreases with advancing iron deficiency.
• RET-He shows a detection capability with an AUC of 0.85 for sFer < 12 ng/ml with a cutoff of 31.6 pg.
• Detected 67.3% of donors with Hb within acceptable limits but sFer < 12 ng/ml when RET-He ≤ 31.6 pg.