Why is iron alone not enough?
The level of serum iron itself is unreliable: it fluctuates during the day by tens of percent, increases after taking iron supplements and meat food, and decreases with any inflammation. Therefore, iron metabolism is assessed comprehensively. LVSS shows how much iron transferrin can still bind: with iron deficiency there are a lot of free places and the indicator increases, with iron overload and hemochromatosis it decreases. Together with ferritin, transferrin and transferrin saturation coefficient, this makes it possible to distinguish true iron deficiency from anemia of chronic diseases, in which there is iron in the body, but it is blocked by inflammation, and iron supplements do not help.
How to prepare to donate blood
- on an empty stomach 8–12 hours, you can drink water
- Eliminate alcohol and intense exercise per day
- no smoking in an hour
- donate blood before physiotherapy, x-rays and massage
- Take medications in advance by agreeing with your doctor
How to read the result
Reference values depend on the method and equipment of the laboratory, so it is correct to compare results only within the same laboratory. A deviation of a few percent from the normal limit in itself rarely matters - the overall picture and dynamics are important.
The analysis must be interpreted by a doctor: an isolated indicator without a clinical context is often misleading and leads to unnecessary examinations.