How It Works
- Receive your test kit in the post.
- Clean your finger and use the finger prick lancet to release blood.
- Fill the capillary dropper with blood up to the black line.
- Squeeze the blood into the sample area marked S on the test cassette.
- Allow the blood to absorb and add one drop of single use buffer to the sample well.
- Wait 5 minutes for the results to appear. NOTE: Do not interpret before 5 minutes or after 10 minutes as the results may be inaccurate.
Iron is an essential trace element and nutrient that, among other functions, is necessary for the production of healthy red blood cells(RBCs). The body cannot produce iron and must absorb it from the foods we eat or from supplements (1).
In healthy people, most of the iron absorbed by the body is incorporated into the haemoglobin of red blood cells. When the level of iron is insufficient to meet the body’s needs, the level of iron in the blood drops, iron stores are depleted, and ferritin levels decrease (2).
Insufficient levels of circulating and stored iron may eventually lead to iron deficiency anaemia (decreased haemoglobin). A deficiency is registered when the ferritin concentration in blood is lower than 30ng/ml.
References: