Anaemia Blood Test

The two deficiencies behind most anaemia. Iron status is measured three ways: the iron circulating in your blood, transferrin, the protein that carries it, and total iron binding capacity, which shows how much spare carrying capacity there is; when iron is low, TIBC and transferrin rise as the body makes more carrier. Vitamin B12 is measured directly, because a deficiency stops the bone marrow making normal red cells and causes a different type of anaemia with large, fragile cells. Together they show whether you are short of the raw materials for red blood cells, and which.

Not on its own. Anaemia means a low haemoglobin, which is measured by a full blood count, and this test does not include it. What this test tells you is whether the causes are present: low iron or low B12. Most people with low iron and symptoms are anaemic or heading that way, and the GP report will say whether a full blood count is the sensible next step. If you want anaemia confirmed and its cause in one go, our Full Blood Count (£69) alongside this test, or the Tiredness and Fatigue test (£139), which includes haemoglobin, ferritin, iron, B12, folate and thyroid, covers both.

Tiredness that does not lift with rest, weakness, breathlessness on stairs or exertion, a fast or pounding heartbeat, pale skin and pale inner eyelids, headaches, dizziness, cold hands and feet, brittle nails and, with iron deficiency, cravings for ice or unusual substances, a sore tongue and restless legs. B12 deficiency adds pins and needles, numbness, balance problems, memory difficulty and low mood, which can appear before the anaemia does. Any of these lasting more than a couple of weeks is worth testing.

It measures total vitamin B12 in the blood, reported in ng/L or pmol/L. Levels below about 180 ng/L (133 pmol/L) are deficient, 180 to 300 borderline, and above 300 normal, though the exact range is printed on your report. B12 comes only from animal foods or supplements, so vegans, older adults whose stomachs absorb it less well, people on metformin or long-term acid-suppressing tablets, and people with pernicious anaemia or coeliac disease are most at risk. Low B12 is treated with tablets or injections through your GP and the damage it causes is reversible if caught early.

Ferritin is the stored form of iron and is the single best marker of iron deficiency; this panel measures circulating iron and its carriers instead, which show the same deficiency in a different way, with the pattern of low iron and high TIBC being characteristic. Ferritin has the advantage of showing depleted stores before circulating iron falls, so if you want the earliest and clearest iron picture, our Iron Blood Test (from £49) measures ferritin with iron, TIBC and transferrin. This test is the choice when B12 is the question as well as iron.

If you want to know your underlying levels, stop iron supplements for 24 hours before the sample and take the sample in the morning, because a tablet taken that day pushes circulating iron up for several hours. B12 supplements and injections raise the blood level for weeks, so a test taken while supplementing shows whether the supplement is working rather than your natural level; if you want a baseline, test before starting or after a break your GP agrees to.

In women who menstruate, heavy periods are by far the most common cause. In everyone, a diet low in iron, particularly vegetarian and vegan diets without planning, pregnancy, coeliac disease and other causes of poor absorption, regular blood donation, and long-distance running all contribute. In men and in women after the menopause, iron deficiency should always prompt a GP to look for blood loss from the gut, which is why the GP report will recommend a GP visit if your iron is low and you are in that group.

The kit is posted to you with lancets, a collection tube, plasters, instructions and a prepaid return envelope. In the morning, before any iron tablet, wash your hands in warm water, prick a fingertip, fill the tube to the line and post it back the same day. All four markers are reported from the sample. Or book at one of 250+ Goodbody clinics or a nurse home visit.

Yes. If you have symptoms, your GP will usually order a full blood count first and add ferritin, B12 and folate if the haemoglobin is low. That is the right route if you are unwell. A private test is useful if you want to check iron and B12 before symptoms are severe, if you follow a vegan diet and want to monitor B12, or if you have been told your blood count is normal but still feel run down and want the deficiency markers checked directly.

Iron deficiency is treated with iron tablets for three to six months to refill stores, or an infusion if tablets are not tolerated, plus treatment of the cause, such as heavy periods. B12 deficiency is treated with high-dose tablets if the cause is dietary, or injections every two to three months for life if it is pernicious anaemia or an absorption problem. Both are prescribed by your GP, and your GP report tells you which to ask about. Energy usually improves within weeks of starting treatment.

From £79 with the home finger-prick kit, £119 at one of 250+ Goodbody clinics or £139 with a nurse home visit, including laboratory analysis and a GP report. If haemoglobin is what you need confirmed, the Full Blood Count is £69, and the Iron Blood Test, with ferritin, is from £49.

Results are emailed within 3 to 5 working days of your sample reaching the laboratory, with a GP report that explains your iron and B12 results, whether a full blood count or other test is the right next step, and how to raise treatment with your GP.