Transferrin saturation

This test examines the following:

• iron
• transferrin
• transferrin saturation

Transferrin is a transport protein in the blood.
As the name suggests, transferrin is a transport protein for iron (ferrum in Latin) but also for zinc. The transferrin level in the blood is determined when a disorder of iron metabolism is suspected. Such a disorder is seen, for example, in the hereditary disease iron deficiency (hemochromatosis).

Transferrin is produced in the liver and can be taken as a measure of the total amount of iron in the body. When there is an iron deficiency in the body, the transferrin concentration rises. On the other hand, low transferrin is often seen in illnesses. This is because the liver produces less transferrin and the amount of iron in the body falls.

The transferrin concentration is also influenced by anemia and kidney disease. In patients who use antibiotics, the transferrin determination is not always reliable: the value found is too low.

Conversion factorg/dl
x 10 = mg/lReference value
(s)
Women : 1800 - 3800 mg/dlMen
: 1800 - 3600 mg/dlHereditary

hemochromatosis (he-moe-Cro and euml-muh-TOE-sis) causes your body to absorb too much iron from the food you eat. The excess iron is stored in your organs, especially the liver, heart and pancreas. The excess iron can poison these organs, leading to life-threatening conditions such as cancer, cardiac arrhythmias and cirrhosis.

Many people inherit the defective genes that cause hemochromatosis - it is the most common inherited disease in whites. But only a minority of people with the genes develop serious problems. Hemochromatosis is likely to be severe in men.