Good Day, I suggest that if you were in my clinic I would do an anemia work up.It sounds as if the only thing ever looked at was the hemoglobin or hematocrit in the donation clinic, not iron. The doctor can generally tell by looking at the CBC if the deficiency is macrocytic (B12 or folic acid) or microcytic (iron or copper). It is important to identify the culprits of the deficiency. It may even involve vitamin K and C. Most probably, if it is iron a quick check of your ferritin level should be enough. However, vegetarians (if you are) are also at high risk for vitamin B12 deficiency and if that occurs and goes untreated you can suffer with nerve damage. A folic acid deficiency also is not desirable. So, I would want to look at all of those parameters, ferritin, B12 and folic acid. Thank you for your interest in achieving optimal health.