Iron + Total iron-binding capacity

General Information:

Blood plasma contains less than 0.2% of the iron in the body. Free iron is highly toxic and relatively insoluble, so all plasma is associated with transport protein transferrin. Transferrin is synthesized in the liver and its function is to bind and transport the iron to the bone marrow, where it is involved in haemoglobin synthesis or to the landfill where it is deposited as back-up iron.
Since one of the main functions of iron in the human body is participation in haemoglobin, the study of serum iron and iron-binding fractions is important for the diagnosis and differentiation of different types of anaemia.

Transferrin is a protein that binds iron and transports it into the blood. The medical laboratory test measures the blood's capacity to bind iron with transferrin. Clinicians usually perform this test when they are concerned about anemia, iron deficiency or iron deficiency anemia. 

Sample required:

Venous blood in the morning in fasting

Keywords

Fe, iron, total iron-binding capacity, TIBC