A ferritin blood test measures the level of ferritin in your blood. Ferritin is a protein that binds to iron and stores it in your body. You need iron to make healthy red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. Iron is also important for healthy muscles, bone marrow, and organs, including brain development in children.
A ferritin blood test may be ordered as part of a group of iron tests to help check your iron levels. It can help your health care provider find out if your body is storing the right amount of iron to stay healthy.
Source: MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine
Normal range
- Female · ≤ 28 d
- 150–973 ug/L
- Female · ≤ 5 mo
- 12–219 ng/mL
- Female · 1 mo – 5 mo
- 9–580 ug/L
- Female · 1 y – 5 y
- 12–71 ng/mL
- Female · 12 y – 19 y
- 15–77 ng/mL
- Female · 18 y – 50 y
- 6–175 ug/L
- Female · 51 y+
- 11–328 ug/L
- Female · 6 mo – 1 y
- 12–110 ng/mL
- Female · 6 mo – 17 y
- 8–115 ug/L
- Female · 6 y – 11 y
- 15–79 ng/mL
- Female
- 15–307 ng/mL (varies by lab) ABIM 24–307 · LabCorp 15–150 ng/mL
- Male · ≤ 28 d
- 150–973 ug/L
- Male · ≤ 5 mo
- 13–273 ng/mL
- Male · 1 mo – 5 mo
- 9–580 ug/L
- Male · 1 y – 5 y
- 12–64 ng/mL
- Male · 10 y – 17 y
- 15–201 ug/L
- Male · 12 y – 19 y
- 16–124 ng/mL
- Male · 18 y+
- 31–409 ug/L
- Male · 6 mo – 1 y
- 12–95 ng/mL
- Male · 6 mo – 9 y
- 6–111 ug/L
- Male · 6 y – 11 y
- 16–77 ng/mL
- Male
- 24–400 ng/mL (varies by lab) ABIM 24–336 · LabCorp 30–400 ng/mL
These labs do not agree for female: the published adult ranges differ by up to 2.0×, so the same result can read as normal at one lab and be flagged at another — ABIM 24–307 · LabCorp 15–150 ng/mL. Both are real published values, shown as each lab states them.
Ranges from American Board of Internal Medicine (Laboratory Test Reference Ranges), LabCorp Test Directory, Mayo Clinic Laboratories (Pediatric Test Catalog).
All 24 source ranges
What moves it
| Recommendation | When | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron — address deficiency | Low | National Institutes of Health - Office of Dietary Supplements |
What an abnormal result can be associated with
- A high result
- Increased circulating ferritin concentration
- A low result
- Decreased circulating ferritin concentration
Associations from LOINC2HPO (Human Phenotype Ontology). This is reference information, not a diagnosis — only a clinician can interpret your result in context.
Details
- Sample
- Serum or plasma · LOINC
- Part of
- Bryan Johnson Blueprint
- Listed under
- Anemia · Hemochromatosis · Iron
- Code
- LOINC 2276-4 · ng/mL
- Also known as
- Ferr