Capillary and venous haemoglobin levels in blood donors: a 42-month study of 36 258 paired samples

Abstract

Capillary haemoglobin levels of 12.0-12.5 g/dl in healthy females or 13.0-13.5 g/dl in healthy males are substantively equivalent to venous haemoglobin levels of > or = 12.5 and > or = 13.5 g/dl for women and men respectively. This finding has permitted an additional 32 990 blood units to be collected over the period of the study, a gain of 9.4%.