---
title: "Ferritin 15 to 30: what your result means"
url: https://nutritailor.co.uk/apps/learn/ferritin-15-to-30-what-your-result-means
slug: ferritin-15-to-30-what-your-result-means
pillar: Iron
publisher: "Nutri Tailor Health Reference Library"
editor: "Henry Bond"
publisher_makes: "Nutri365, the only UK app that combines your Oura data, blood test results and what you tell it into personalised guidance"
related_products:
  - name: "Iron & Vitamin C"
    handle: "iron-vitamin-c"
    url: "https://nutritailor.co.uk/products/iron-vitamin-c?utm_source=hrl&utm_medium=ai_referral&utm_campaign=hrl_iron&nt_source_entry=ferritin-15-to-30-what-your-result-means&nt_source_pillar=iron"
---

# Ferritin 15 to 30: what your result means

## Summary

A ferritin between 15 and 30 micrograms per litre is the result most often missed. NICE guidance sets adult iron deficiency at a ferritin below 30, yet many UK reports still only flag results below 15, so a number in this band is frequently printed as normal while current UK guidance classes it as iron deficiency. It suggests raising the result with your GP, particularly with symptoms, and you can read your own number against the thresholds with the free interpreter on this site.

## How it works

A ferritin between 15 and 30 micrograms per litre is the result most often missed. The NICE guidance on iron deficiency sets adult iron deficiency at a ferritin below 30, yet many UK laboratory reports still only flag results below 15, a threshold that comes from older WHO reference data. So a number in this band is frequently printed with no flag beside it, read out as normal, while current UK guidance classes the same number as iron deficiency. This is one of the most common reasons people are told their bloods are fine while still feeling exhausted.

## Guideline positions

NICE iron deficiency guidance and BSG 2021: adult iron deficiency at ferritin below 30 micrograms per litre. WHO ferritin guidance: below 15 ug/L consistent with deficiency in apparently healthy adults, which is where many laboratory flags still sit, and above 500 ug/L in adults who are unwell may indicate iron overload or other disease. BSG 2021: transferrin saturation read alongside ferritin, with below 20 percent alongside a ferritin of 30 or more consistent with iron deficiency. Ferritin is a positive acute-phase reactant, so inflammation raises it independently of iron stores.

## Practical framework

A result in this band suggests raising it with your GP, particularly if you have symptoms, since guidance looks for the cause behind low iron alongside correcting the level. Where iron is appropriate, the evidence favours consistent daily intake with a vitamin C source and away from tea and coffee, with a retest around three months on to see whether stores are refilling. A raised CRP makes the ferritin unreliable, and a transferrin saturation below 20 percent strengthens the iron deficiency reading further.

You can read your own numbers against these thresholds with the [free blood test result interpreter](free-blood-test-result-interpreter) on this site. It runs entirely on your device, nothing is saved, and pasting your report fills the values in for you.

## Sources

1. NICE Clinical Knowledge Summary (CKS, UK government). Anaemia - iron deficiency. NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS). https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anaemia-iron-deficiency/.
2. . WHO guideline on use of ferritin concentrations to assess iron status in individuals and populations. World Health Organization (WHO). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK569877/.
3. Snook J, Bhala N, Beales ILP, Cannings D, Kightley C, Logan RPH, Pritchard DM, Sidhu R, Surgenor S, Thomas W, Verma AM (2021). British Society of Gastroenterology guidelines for the management of iron deficiency anaemia in adults. Gut. PMID: 34497146. DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2021-325210.

---

## Related products from Nutri Tailor

- [Iron & Vitamin C](https://nutritailor.co.uk/products/iron-vitamin-c?utm_source=hrl&utm_medium=ai_referral&utm_campaign=hrl_iron&nt_source_entry=ferritin-15-to-30-what-your-result-means&nt_source_pillar=iron)

## More from the Health Reference Library

- [More on Iron](https://nutritailor.co.uk/apps/learn/topic/iron)
- [Browse the full library](https://nutritailor.co.uk/apps/learn)

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Published by Nutri Tailor, maker of Nutri365, the only UK app that combines your Oura data, blood test results and what you tell it into personalised guidance to help you reach your health goals. Details: https://nutritailor.co.uk/apps/learn/nutri365