Iron deficiency anaemia awareness day

To raise public awareness of iron deficiency anaemia, the Laboratory of Haematology – Blood Transfusion Unit of the Aretaieion Hospital of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Laboratory Director Professor Marianna Politou) offered free complete blood counts, ferritin tests, and haematological counselling to more than 150 adult women of all ages (09:00-14:30).

The number of available places was defined and limited to avoid overcrowding, and a scheduled appointment was required.

Present at the event were, among others, the Greek Minister of Health, Thanos Plevris, the Rector of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Meletios-Athanasios C. Dimopoulos, the Alternate Chair of the School of Medicine of NKUA and President of the Board of Directors (‘the Ephorate’) of the Aretaieion Hospital, Nikolaos Arkadopoulos, and a great many members of the teaching and research staff of the School of Medicine of NKUA.

Prominent factors contributing to iron deficiency are a) a decreased iron intake in the diet, b) malabsorption, c) blood loss (e.g., through the gastrointestinal tract or menstruation), and d) the increased need for iron (e.g., in children or pregnant women).

The most common symptoms of iron deficiency include pale skin, tiredness, noticeable heartbeats, a sore tongue, spoon-shaped nails, and hair loss.

Even though anyone can develop iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia, many individuals are unaware that they do and that their health and welfare may be at risk. For this reason, we make a concerted effort to inform people about the symptoms and impact of the above conditions so that they have the necessary tools to listen to their bodies and seek help and guidance from healthcare professionals whenever needed.

The Greek Minister of Health, Thanos Plevris, the Rector of NKUA, professor Meletios-Athanasios C. Dimopoulos, the Alternate Chair of the School of Medicine of NKUA and President of the Board of Directors (‘the Ephorate’) of the Aretaieion Hospital, professor Nikolaos Arkadopoulos, the organizer of the event and Director of the Laboratory of Haematology – Blood Transfusion Unit of the Aretaieion Hospital, professor Marianna Politou, the associate professor at the School of Medicine of NKUA, Serena Valsami, the assistant professor at the School of Medicine of NKUA, Theodore Pittaras, the Director of the 2^nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the School of Medicine of NKUA (Aretaieion Hospital), professor Nikolaos Vlachos, the Director of the Department of Neonatology of NKUA (Aretaieion Hospital), associate professor Nikoletta Iakovidou, the professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology – Menopause of NKUA, Konstantinos Panoulis, the associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology – Maternal Foetal Medicine of NKUA, Leon Aravantinos, the assistant professor of Endocrinology at NKUA, Lina Paschou, the Director of the 2^nd Department of Surgery of NKUA (Aretaieion Hospital), professor Manousos Konstantoulakis, the assistant professor of Paediatrics – Neonatology at the School of Medicine of NKUA, Zoi Iliodromiti, and the professor of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at NKUA, Dora Psaltopoulou.