At a glance
| Analyte | Ferritin |
|---|---|
| Also called | Serum ferritin, FERR |
| Method | Two-site sandwich chemiluminescence immunoassay |
| Sample type | Serum, Plasma |
| Panel | Anaemia |
| Discipline | CLIA immunoassay |
| Brand | Mindray |
What Ferritin measures
Ferritin is the protein that stores iron inside cells, and the small amount circulating in serum is proportional to the size of the body’s iron stores. That makes it the single most useful test for iron deficiency, and a genuinely low ferritin is close to diagnostic. The complication is that ferritin is also an acute phase protein, so it rises during any inflammatory illness, infection, liver disease or malignancy. A patient can therefore be iron deficient and show a normal or even raised ferritin if they are unwell at the time, which is why the result is read alongside the clinical picture and, where necessary, alongside markers of inflammation.
How Philippine laboratories run it
Iron-deficiency anaemia is common in Philippine practice, particularly in women of reproductive age and in children, and ferritin is the assay that confirms it, usually following a complete blood count that showed a microcytic picture. It is therefore closely tied to hematology workload rather than to the immunoassay menu generally, and laboratories with high CBC volumes should expect proportionate ferritin demand. It is also monitored in patients on iron replacement and in chronic kidney disease, both of which generate repeat testing on the same patients.
Analyzers it runs on
Calibrator, controls and companion tests
Delivered with the rest of the anaemia panel, on the same schedule as Ferritin.
Storage and handling
Refrigerated, upright, and not frozen.
Buying Ferritin in the Philippines
Ferritin is supplied for the CL-2600i and CL-900i. We deliver it with Iron and Vitamin B12, because a run held up waiting on a separate order costs the same shift a stock-out does. Delivery is scheduled against your monthly Ferritin count, so the bench is not rationing tests in the last week of the month. How we plan clia immunoassay supply.
Questions about Ferritin
Can a patient be iron deficient with a normal ferritin?
Yes, and it is a common trap. Ferritin is an acute phase protein, so infection, inflammation, liver disease and malignancy all raise it independently of iron stores. A patient who is unwell can be genuinely iron deficient and still show a normal or raised value, which is why the result is interpreted alongside the clinical picture rather than against the reference interval alone.
Order Ferritin
Tell us your monthly Ferritin volume and we will quote a supply schedule for CL-2600i. We reply within one business day.
Request a quotation