Population-based screening for anemia using first-time blood donors.

Data from four blood centers in the Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study II (REDS-II) were assessed to determine whether readily-available blood donor hemoglobin values could be used as a surrogate for population hemoglobin values from the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) database. The authors report that overall, first-time donor fingerstick hemoglobins from REDS-II approximated US population data from NHANES, therefore representing a readily-available public health resource for ongoing anemia surveillance.

– Lawrence Tim Goodnough