THE
IRON
CLINIC
Guideline update NICE NG88  ·  7 July 2026
Ten years of work behind one deletion
Professor
Toby Richards
Professor of Surgery  ·  Director of The Iron Clinic
Professor Toby Richards
Heavy menstrual bleeding  /  laboratory tests
1.2.8 Deleted.
For nineteen years this line told clinicians not to routinely test serum ferritin in women with heavy periods. In July 2026, NICE removed it.
The removal follows a decade of research into heavy periods and iron deficiency in women, and the work of the Women's Health Advisory Board on which Prof Richards sat.
NICE guideline NG88, Heavy menstrual bleeding: assessment and management. Recommendation 1.2.8, dated 2007, removed 7 July 2026. NICE cites feedback from stakeholders; NG88 now carries no recommendation either way on ferritin testing.
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