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Although blood donation is allowed every 8 weeks in the United States, recovery of hemoglobin to the currently accepted standard (12.5 g/dL) is frequently delayed, and some donors become anemic.

To determine the effect of oral iron supplementation on hemoglobin recovery time (days to recovery of 80% of hemoglobin removed) and recovery of iron stores in iron-depleted (“low ferritin,” ≤26 ng/mL) and iron-replete (“higher ferritin,” >26 ng/mL) blood donors.

Randomized, nonblinded clinical trial of blood donors stratified by ferritin level, sex, and age conducted in 4 regional blood centers in the United States in 2012. Included were 215 eligible participants aged 18 to 79 years who had not donated whole blood or red blood cells within 4 months.

One tablet of ferrous gluconate (37.5 mg of elemental iron) daily or no iron for 24 weeks (168 days) after …