Big news for anyone who has ever been told their iron looks “fine.” In September 2026, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) released new guidelines for diagnosing iron deficiency, and they raised the ferritin cutoffs.
Ferritin is the protein that stores iron in your body. A ferritin blood test is how iron deficiency is usually diagnosed, and the new cutoffs are higher for every group.
The New Ferritin Cutoffs
- Children 9 months to 4 years: 20 ng/mL or lower (instead of 12)
- Adults, and menstruating or pregnant individuals: 30 ng/mL or lower (instead of 15)
- Higher-risk groups, like heavy menstrual bleeding or pregnancy with anemia: 50 ng/mL or lower
- Adults with inflammation, like cancer, IBD or infectious disease: ferritin under 100 ng/mL or transferrin saturation under 20%
Source: the ASH 2026 guidelines, published in Blood Advances. I first saw the news on 12News (CNN Newsource).
My Ferritin of 9
My ferritin was 9. My lab’s reference range started at 16, so even by the old standards, my 9 was never borderline. It was critically low, and I felt it: air hunger, heart palpitations, severe fatigue and chunks of hair falling out.
Bringing it back up took work. My ferritin went from 9 to 25 in six weeks, then to 36, and by September 4, 2025, it was 131.
Why This Matters
Six weeks in, my 25 was inside my lab’s reference range. By the new ASH cutoffs, it would still count as iron deficiency.
That’s the point of this update. ASH says some people who were told they didn’t have iron deficiency may now meet the criteria, especially if their ferritin was close to the old cutoff. ASH estimates iron deficiency affects about one in three people, and many go undiagnosed.
What I’d Ask
If you’re tired, foggy or short of breath and were told your labs are normal, ask your provider about testing your ferritin, ideally with a full iron panel. Ask which cutoff they’re using.
And if your ferritin is low, ask why. For me, my gut and my absorption were a big part of the answer.
If you’re ordering on your own, I compare ferritin test and iron panel prices on my Iron & Ferritin page. For GI-MAP and SIBO tests, see Discount Labs.