Iron test: ferritin, iron panel, normal ranges and price in the UAE

An iron test shows how much iron your body holds in reserve and how much is moving through your blood when the sample is taken. Most iron panels pair ferritin, the storage measure, with serum iron, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) and transferrin saturation, which describe iron in transit. Read together, they suggest whether stores look low, adequate or overfull, and whether something such as inflammation is clouding the picture.

What the test includes

Iron is part of haemoglobin, the protein in red cells that carries oxygen. The body keeps a reserve of iron inside a storage protein called ferritin, much of it in the liver. A small amount of ferritin circulates in the blood, and when there is no inflammation its level rises and falls with the size of those reserves. Iron travelling from the gut and the stores to the bone marrow is carried by a protein called transferrin.

The markers in an iron test fall into two groups.

• Stores. Ferritin is the closest single blood measure of how much iron is held in reserve.
• Transport. Serum iron is the iron in the blood right now. TIBC is how much iron transferrin could carry if every site were filled. Unsaturated iron-binding capacity (UIBC) is the spare room left on transferrin. Transferrin saturation is the share of that capacity in use.

In Clare's panel, ferritin, serum iron and TIBC are measured by the lab. UIBC and transferrin saturation are calculated by Clare from serum iron and TIBC: UIBC is TIBC minus serum iron, and transferrin saturation is serum iron divided by TIBC, times 100.

Who usually asks for it

Doctors order iron tests to look for low iron, a common cause of anaemia, to look for too much iron, as in haemochromatosis, and to see how treatment is working. Low iron may cause no symptoms until it is quite low, which is one reason iron tests are often part of routine bloodwork.

Typical prompts include a blood count showing small or pale red cells, tiredness or breathlessness, heavy periods, pregnancy, regular blood donation and a diet with little iron. European liver guidance also advises checking iron markers in anyone with abnormal liver blood tests, and testing close relatives of people with haemochromatosis.

How to prepare

Serum iron, and with it transferrin saturation, varies through the day and from one day to the next, and it rises after iron-containing food or supplements. Laboratories handle this in slightly different ways.

• Fasting. Mayo Clinic Laboratories prefers an 8-hour fast for its iron and TIBC test but does not require one. MedlinePlus notes that some providers ask for a 12-hour fast. Follow the instruction your doctor or laboratory gives you.
• Time of day. A morning sample is commonly preferred. The European liver society's haemochromatosis guideline advises a morning sample for transferrin saturation, while noting that fasting does not improve its diagnostic value.
• Supplements. Iron tablets raise serum iron, and some laboratories ask for a 24-hour gap between an iron-containing supplement and the sample. Biotin (vitamin B7), common in hair, skin and nail products, can affect some immunoassays, and Mayo asks for a 12-hour gap before its ferritin test. Do not stop or change a medicine or supplement on your own. Tell your doctor and the person taking the sample what you take and when you last took it.
• Recent events. Mention a recent infection, surgery or blood transfusion, since each can shift ferritin or iron.

How the markers are read together

No single iron marker tells the whole story. Mayo Clinic Laboratories names ferritin as the recommended primary test for iron deficiency and advises against using serum iron, TIBC and saturation as the primary test. The transport markers earn their place when they are read next to ferritin. These are the patterns doctors usually look for. They are starting points for a conversation, not conclusions.

Low stores

Low ferritin with low serum iron, a high TIBC and a low transferrin saturation is the classic picture of depleted iron: transferrin and TIBC rise when iron runs short, so there is more room to carry iron but less iron to carry. A doctor will usually look at haemoglobin and red cell size next, and then at the reason, such as heavy periods, diet, pregnancy or a problem absorbing iron. For men and for women after menopause with iron deficiency anaemia, the British Society of Gastroenterology recommends investigating the gut, and coeliac disease is routinely screened for.

Inflammation

Ferritin is also an acute-phase protein. It rises with infection, inflammation, liver disease and some cancers, whatever the stores are doing. Inflammation also makes the body hold iron back inside cells, so serum iron and transferrin saturation fall while ferritin stays normal or high, and transferrin tends to fall rather than rise. This pattern can hide low stores. Doctors often check a marker of inflammation such as CRP next to ferritin, and WHO uses a higher ferritin cut-off for iron deficiency when inflammation is present.

Iron loading

A high transferrin saturation together with a high ferritin points towards more iron than the body needs. British haematology guidance says both numbers are needed and neither should be used alone to look for haemochromatosis, partly because transferrin saturation varies a good deal from one sample to the next. Depending on ancestry and family history, a doctor may check liver blood tests and consider a genetic test for haemochromatosis. The commonest form, linked to the HFE gene, is mostly seen in people of northern European descent.

High ferritin, normal saturation

Most people with a raised ferritin do not have haemochromatosis. Ferritin is often raised with fatty liver, excess alcohol, the metabolic syndrome, obesity and inflammation. A raised transferrin saturation alongside it makes iron loading more likely; a normal one sends the doctor towards these other causes, usually starting with liver tests and CRP.

Small red cells, normal iron

If the blood count shows small red cells but the iron results look normal, doctors think of thalassaemia trait, an inherited difference in haemoglobin. The British Society of Gastroenterology recommends haemoglobin electrophoresis in that situation.

UIBC: the reference range

UIBC has no page of its own, so its numbers are here. Because UIBC is TIBC minus serum iron, it tends to be high when iron is scarce and transferrin has plenty of empty sites, and low when iron is plentiful or TIBC itself is low. A 2023 study that set reference intervals in healthy Saudi adults, following the international IFCC protocol, reported these ranges:

Ranges vary by laboratory, method, age and sex, and some laboratories, Mayo Clinic Laboratories among them, do not report UIBC at all. Read your result against the range printed on your own report.

Why it matters in the UAE

Iron deficiency shows up often in UAE studies, particularly among women. In 394 healthy young Emirati adults of Bedouin Arab origin, 65% of the women had a ferritin below 30 µg/L and 16% of the women had iron deficiency anaemia. The authors concluded that screening women for iron deficiency is justified. The same study found small red cells (MCV below 80 fL) in 45% of all participants and estimated alpha-thalassaemia trait in 32% of the men, so in the UAE small red cells often have a cause other than iron.

Iron also bears on premarital screening, which is mandatory across the UAE and includes screening for beta-thalassaemia trait. In an Al Ain study within that programme, 38% of the women whose ferritin was checked had a ferritin below 15 µg/L. Iron deficiency lowers HbA2, the haemoglobin fraction used to screen for beta-thalassaemia trait, so the authors suggested routinely checking ferritin in women as part of that screening.

Regular blood donation matters too. A study of 3,096 whole-blood donors at blood banks in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Libya and Oman found that more frequent donation was linked to lower ferritin.

Price

When we read public prices on 11 October 2026, an iron or ferritin test cost from 55 to 1,200 at 9 UAE providers. The low end was ferritin on its own; the high end was a wider package that also covered vitamins and minerals. Panels that add serum iron or TIBC were priced above ferritin alone. VAT was rarely stated, some prices were offers or indicative figures, and home collection can add a fee.

Related tests

An iron test is usually read with the CBC blood test, whose hemoglobin, MCV and MCH show whether low iron has started to affect red cells. The CRP test helps tell low stores from inflammation when ferritin looks normal. The B12 test, with vitamin B12 and folate, looks at two other nutrients the body needs to make red cells. For how a full panel fits together, see what to expect from a comprehensive blood test in Dubai.

Why the numbers mean more over time

One iron test is a snapshot. Ferritin rises as stores refill and falls as they are used, so its direction across tests says more than any single value, and WHO recommends using the same method each time so the results compare fairly. Serum iron and transferrin saturation swing from day to day, so they are read alongside ferritin rather than alone. Once haemoglobin and iron stores have been restored after treatment, the British Society of Gastroenterology recommends checking the blood count periodically, perhaps every 6 months at the start, to catch a return of iron deficiency anaemia. Clare is opening in the UAE with a waitlist at clare.health.