A carefully planned study for monitoring the iron status of blood donors in India with Hb
ranging between 12 and 12.5 g/dl is essential before recommending implementation of the decision to lower the Hb cut-off to 12 g/dl. Till such time, the finger prick CuSO4 specific gravity method can
be used as an initial screening method for selecting suitable blood donors. All blood donors who fail
this initial screening should be re-evaluated by either the Hemocue or Coulter to recruit more healthy donors for blood donation.