High-dose intravenous versus oral iron in blood donors with iron deficiency: The IronWoMan randomized, controlled clinical trial

• Published in: Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) Scotland), 2020-03, Vol.39 (3), p.737-745
• Main Authors: Drexler, Camilla, Macher, Susanne, Lindenau, Ines, Holter, Magdalena, Moritz, Martina, Stojakovic, Tatjana, Pieber, Thomas R., Schlenke, Peter, Amrein, Karin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blood donor; Intravenous iron; Iron; Iron deficiency; Premenopausal women
• ISSN: 0261-5614; 1532-1983
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2019.03.025

Frequent blood donation often leads to iron deficiency and even anemia but appropriate strategies for detection and prevention are currently not mandatory. At the Medical University of Graz, we conducted a single-center prospective clinical trial to compare oral and IV iron supplementation in iron deficient blood donors including Austrian regular whole blood and platelet apheresis donors. We aimed to determine the difference of transferrin saturation between the treatment groups 8–12 weeks iron administration besides other parameters of iron status and blood count. 176 healthy male and female blood donors with iron deficiency (ferritin ≤30 ng/mL) were randomized to either a single dose of IV ferric carboxymaltose (1000 mg, n = 86) or oral iron (II)fumarate (100 tablets of 100 mg [10 per week], n = 90). Between 2014 and 2016, 172 donors (137 women) completed the study; 4 in the oral group were lost to follow-up. At follow-up, median (IQR) transferrin saturation and ferritin were significantly higher in the intravenous group (27 [23–35]%, vs 21.0 [16–32]%; p