Namita Thapar takes IV iron therapy due to low ferritin: What is it and how can it help women with iron deficiency

Shark Tank India fame and the Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Namita Thapar, opened up about her struggle with anaemia, a common condition resulting from a lack of red blood cells or haemoglobin. In a video, she was seen on her regular iron drip due to low ferritin levels.

Namita Thapar on IV iron drip: What is it?

In a conversation with Livemint, Dr Anirban Chattopadhyay, critical care specialist at CK Birla Hospitals, CMRI, explained what ferritin is and how it is linked to iron deficiency.

What is ferritin?

In simple words, ferritin is essentially the body’s iron storage protein. While some iron circulates in the blood as part of haemoglobin, ferritin represents the stored iron reserve that the body draws upon when one falls short of iron.

These iron stores are mainly located in the liver, spleen and bone marrow.

Ferritin levels reflect the body's total iron reserve. While ferritin levels below 15 ng/mL indicate iron deficiency, values in the 15–30 ng/mL range indicate iron depletion, and levels above 100 ng/mL are generally considered adequate.

"Ferritin is also an acute-phase reactant, meaning it can appear normal or falsely elevated in situations such as infection, inflammation, liver disease or malignancy," added Dr Chattopadhyay.

Raising awareness, Namita Thapar shared on social media: “Most people don’t know about FERRITIN. This is your iron reserves. You could have normal haemoglobin, but if your ferritin is low (below 70), you will have all the symptoms of anaemia. Additionally, it impacts your sleep, heart & immunity if not addressed in time. It takes a simple blood test to find out your ferritin levels and IV iron infusion is often a better solution when ferritin is extremely low. If not too low, you can take iron tablets to bring it up.”

Iron deficiency among women after 40

Iron deficiency is common among women and remains a significant health concern even after the age of 40. “Studies suggest that around 32–50% of women of reproductive age are affected by iron deficiency,” said the doctor.

Among women over 40, approximately 22–30% continue to experience iron deficiency anaemia. “The risk is particularly high in the late 40s, especially during the perimenopausal phase, due to factors such as heavy or irregular menstrual bleeding, uterine fibroids, adenomyosis, poor dietary absorption, inflammatory bowel conditions, and repeated pregnancies earlier in life. While iron deficiency tends to reduce after menopause, anaemia in women above 50–60 years is more concerning and warrants investigation for causes such as gastrointestinal blood loss, malabsorption, or even underlying malignancy,” explained Dr Chattopadhyay.

Talking about perimenopause, Thapar previously shared that she became anaemic, and bled so much during her periods. She said it was uncomfortable for her to even sit down during Shark Tank India.

IV iron: What is it?

So, can iron drip help women with iron deficiency?

A ferritin drip refers to intravenous (IV) iron therapy, which delivers iron directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the gut.

The doctor noted that a ferritin drip is beneficial for patients with poor absorption from oral iron, heavy menstrual bleeding, inflammatory bowel disease, or intolerance to oral iron supplements.

"IV iron is rapidly taken up by the body and stored as ferritin, leading to faster replenishment of iron stores and quicker improvement in haemoglobin levels compared to oral therapy. This makes it an effective option when rapid correction of iron deficiency is required,” explained Dr Chattopadhyay.

Not ideal for all patients

IV iron can also come with possible side effects like temporary hypotension or, rarely, iron overload. It is also not ideal for patients when anaemia is due to causes other than iron deficiency.

“Earlier IV iron preparations carried a higher risk of allergic reactions and needed to be administered slowly under close supervision. However, newer IV iron formulations are much safer, can be given within 10–15 minutes, and have significantly fewer side effects. Most importantly, IV iron should only be given after confirming iron deficiency through appropriate tests and not just for low haemoglobin alone,” warned the doctor.