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Intel Lab Diagnostics Dubai
Single Biomarker

Ferritin

Stored Iron

Ferritin reflects your body's iron stores. Low levels indicate iron deficiency (even before anaemia develops), while very high levels may suggest iron overload, inflammation, or liver disease.

BLOOD24 HOURSNO FASTING
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  • Free home collection
  • Physician-reviewed report

24 Hours

Turnaround

Blood

Sample

About This Test

What the Ferritin test tells you

Ferritin is the protein shell your cells use to store iron safely. Iron is essential but chemically reactive, so the body locks it inside ferritin in the liver, spleen and bone marrow rather than leaving it loose. A small amount of ferritin leaks into the bloodstream in proportion to how much iron is stored, which is why serum ferritin is the single best routine indicator of your iron reserves. It also falls early: stores are drawn down well before haemoglobin drops, so ferritin can reveal iron depletion before anaemia has developed.

The important complication is that ferritin is also an acute-phase reactant. Its production rises during inflammation, infection, recent surgery, liver disease, excess alcohol, obesity and some cancers, entirely independently of iron. This means a normal or even high ferritin does not rule out iron deficiency when inflammation is present, and it is the most common reason a deficiency is missed. Doctors work around it by reading ferritin alongside a marker of inflammation such as CRP, together with transferrin saturation and the full blood count.

A high ferritin is interpreted the other way around. True iron overload, from hereditary haemochromatosis or repeated transfusions, does raise it, but inflammation and fatty liver disease are far more common explanations in everyday practice. Separating them relies on transferrin saturation and, when overload remains likely, genetic testing or imaging. A low ferritin, by contrast, is close to conclusive for depleted stores, and in an adult it always deserves an explanation, because the underlying cause of the loss matters as much as the number.

Sample type
Blood
Measured in
ng/mL
Turnaround
24 Hours
Fasting
Not required
Best for
Adults & teens
Why Get Tested?

Essential for diagnosing iron deficiency anaemia, monitoring iron supplementation, and investigating iron overload conditions like haemochromatosis.

  • Earliest marker of depletion

    Ferritin falls before haemoglobin does, so it can identify iron deficiency at a stage when the blood count still looks normal.

  • Investigating anaemia

    It is the key test for deciding whether an anaemia is caused by lack of iron rather than by another mechanism.

  • Monitoring iron treatment

    Stores refill more slowly than haemoglobin recovers, so ferritin is what shows whether a course of iron has actually replenished reserves.

  • Assessing possible overload

    A persistently high ferritin prompts your doctor to look for iron overload, liver disease or ongoing inflammation.

When This Test Is Ordered

Reasons your doctor may request the Ferritin test

Your doctor may order this test for any of the reasons below. Some are routine checks, others follow specific symptoms or an earlier result.

  • Anaemia & its symptoms

    • Anaemia or a falling haemoglobin found on a blood count.
    • Symptoms under investigation such as breathlessness on exertion, restless legs or reduced exercise tolerance.

  • Diet, blood loss & absorption

    • Heavy menstrual bleeding, pregnancy, or frequent blood donation.
    • A vegetarian or vegan diet, or a condition affecting absorption such as coeliac disease or previous gastric surgery.

  • Iron treatment & iron overload

    • Monitoring oral iron tablets or an intravenous iron infusion.
    • A family history of haemochromatosis, or a raised transferrin saturation found on other tests.
Preparation
The short version
No prep needed.
  • Blood
  • Free home collection
  • No fasting
  • Results in 24 Hours
  1. 1
    Book any time

    No fasting window: pick any slot that suits you, online or on WhatsApp.

  2. 2
    We come to you

    A DHA-licensed nurse collects your sample at home or in the office: free home collection.

  3. 3
    Results in 24 Hours

    A physician-reviewed, easy-to-read report lands securely by WhatsApp and email.

Prep note
Physician reviewed

Fasting is not required for ferritin on its own, but if it is being taken as part of iron studies you will be asked to fast overnight and attend in the morning, so follow the instruction given when you book.

Iron tablets and multivitamins containing iron should not be taken on the morning of the test, and your doctor may ask you to pause them for some days beforehand so the result reflects your stores rather than your last dose. Tell the team about any recent iron infusion or blood transfusion.

Because inflammation raises ferritin, mention any infection, illness, injury, recent surgery or vaccination in the preceding weeks, and if you are unwell your doctor may prefer to postpone the test. Alcohol intake in the days before also affects the result and is worth mentioning honestly.

Understanding Your Results

Ferritin describes your iron stores rather than the iron circulating in your blood. A result in the "Low" ng/mL band means those stores are depleted, and in an adult that always needs a cause: menstrual or gastrointestinal blood loss, low dietary iron, coeliac disease or other malabsorption, pregnancy, or frequent blood donation. A "Normal" ng/mL result usually means healthy stores, but ferritin rises with inflammation, so a normal or "High" ng/mL figure does not settle the question when infection, liver disease or excess weight is in the picture; this is why it is read beside a marker such as CRP. A high reading is more often explained by inflammation or fatty liver than by true iron overload, and recent iron tablets, an iron infusion or a transfusion shortly before the sample also lift it. Your doctor interprets the value with your blood count, your symptoms and your history.

SmartReport
30300
Healthy zone165ng/mLNormal
Reference ranges · ng/mL
Low
Low iron stores: common cause of iron-deficiency anaemia.
0–29
Normal
Healthy iron stores.
30–300
High
Elevated: may relate to inflammation or iron overload.
301–1000

Ranges are a guide: your physician interprets your result alongside your symptoms and history.

Reading a High or Low Result

  • What a higher result can point to

    • Iron overload from hereditary haemochromatosis or repeated blood transfusions.
    • Inflammation or infection of any kind, since ferritin behaves as an acute-phase protein.
    • Liver disease, including fatty liver, hepatitis and alcohol-related injury.
    • Obesity and metabolic syndrome, which produce a chronic low-grade inflammatory state.
    • Some cancers, particularly lymphoma, and rare severe immune-activation syndromes.
    • Recent iron supplementation, an iron infusion or a transfusion shortly before the sample.

  • What a lower result can point to

    • Chronic blood loss, most often menstrual or from the gastrointestinal tract.
    • Insufficient dietary iron, particularly on a diet with little or no meat.
    • Malabsorption from coeliac disease, gastric or bariatric surgery, or long-standing gastritis.
    • Increased demand during pregnancy, breastfeeding, childhood growth or endurance training.
    • Frequent blood donation without adequate iron replacement.

These are possibilities, not diagnoses. A single value outside the reference range is interpreted alongside your symptoms, history and other tests: your doctor decides what it means for you.

Limitations & Safety

What this test cannot tell you

  • Ferritin is an acute-phase reactant, so inflammation, infection, liver disease and malignancy raise it independently of iron; a normal or high result therefore does not exclude iron deficiency when inflammation is present.
  • No single ferritin result establishes iron overload, which needs transferrin saturation, a repeat measurement and often genetic testing before it can be addressed.
  • The test shows that stores are low but never why, so a low result in an adult always requires the cause of the loss to be investigated.

Risks of the blood draw

  • Mild bruising or brief soreness where the needle went in.
  • Occasional lightheadedness, which settles after a few minutes of rest.
  • Bleeding or infection at the site, which is rare with sterile single-use equipment.
Key Points
  • 1Ferritin reflects stored iron rather than the iron circulating in your blood at that moment.
  • 2It falls before haemoglobin, making it the earliest routine sign of iron depletion.
  • 3It rises with inflammation, so it is read alongside a marker such as CRP.
  • 4A high result is more often explained by inflammation or fatty liver than by true iron overload.
  • 5A low ferritin in an adult always needs a cause to be identified, not just supplements.
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Frequently Asked Questions

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Yes. Inflammation from infection, injury, chronic disease or obesity pushes ferritin up regardless of iron stores, so a reassuring value in an unwell person can mask deficiency. This is why doctors check an inflammatory marker alongside it.