COLUMBIA, SC

Anemia and Iron Deficiency Clinical Trials

No iron deficiency study is enrolling near Columbia, and none anywhere in the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia or Tennessee. However, the reason is a good one, and there is a test you should ask for today. Compensation is provided for eligible participants once one opens here.

In Five States

Test to Ask For

+/- $100

Per Visit

New here? Read how this page works

First, the honest picture. Nothing is open here, and nothing is open in four neighbouring states. So the most useful thing on this page is not a study at all.

Ask for a ferritin test by name. Because a normal blood count does not rule out low iron, and this is the test that finds it.
Get the actual number. Notably, many labs call 15 normal, while low iron is usually defined as under 30.
Ask why the iron is going. In fact, low iron in an adult is a symptom rather than a diagnosis, especially in men.
Finally, put your name in. Then we call you the day an iron study opens near you.

Of course, checking never signs you up for anything. You are only seeing where you might fit.

Iron Studies Open Anywhere Nearby

Notably, none of these is close. So we list them to show the real map, and then tell you what to do instead.

What exists anywhere, and where

Notably, none of these is in the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia or Tennessee. We list them so you can see the real map rather than a padded one.

Iron by Drip or Iron by Pill, in Pregnancy

Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island / Drug

Being low on iron in pregnancy is very common, and pills upset a lot of stomachs. This compares a single drip against a course of pills, to see who is still low at delivery.

Late stage, 300 people Nearest to you

Payment is not published. Notably, the nearest site is in Alabama.

Get on the list →

More details

Why researchers are excited: about 1 in 6 pregnant people in the US is low on iron, and up to 30 percent are by delivery. So this is meant to settle a question guidelines have dodged for years.

Who this study is looking for

Pregnant with one baby, age 18 to 45
Also, between 13 and 30 weeks along
Besides that, blood tests show low iron, with haemoglobin under 11 and ferritin under 30
Finally, you plan to deliver at one of the study hospitals

Probably not a fit if: your anemia comes from something other than low iron, or you are carrying twins. Also, planning to deliver at a hospital outside the study quietly rules out a lot of people who otherwise fit.

Placebo group: Nobody goes without iron here. One group gets a real drip plus dummy pills, the other gets a dummy drip plus real pills. So every person receives real iron by one route or the other.
How long: From joining through delivery to 6 weeks after birth, then the child is followed to about age 3.
Clinic visits: Not published as a calendar. The named points are the drip, a check 2 days later, about 4 weeks, delivery, day 1 after birth, then 4 to 6 weeks, then child visits at 6 and 36 months.
Phone calls: Not published on the public record.
Most invasive part: Blood draws, one drip, and cord blood taken at birth with no needle in the baby. However, the child has an MRI at about 6 months and 3 years, which is a real ask.
Setting: Outpatient.
Where it runs: University of Alabama Medical Center, Birmingham AL 35401, about 390 miles from Charlotte.
Why we list it: there is no iron study anywhere in the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia or Tennessee. So this is the nearest, and it is nearly 6 hours away.
Full study record: View on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Comparing Two Iron Drips in Children

AMAG Pharmaceuticals / Drug

Two iron drips that are both already approved are compared head to head in children with low iron. So nobody is given anything unproven.

Late stage, 75 children Children only

Payment is not published. However, the nearest open site is in Florida.

Get on the list →

More details

Why researchers are excited: most iron evidence comes from adults, so children are often dosed on judgement rather than data.

Who this study is looking for

Children with iron deficiency anemia
Also, the full rules are on the study record, so read them before you call
Besides that, A parent or guardian can travel to the site
Finally, both treatments are already approved iron drips

Probably not a fit if: distance is the barrier here. A Georgia site is listed but has not opened, so the nearest open ones are in Miami.

Placebo group: None in the usual sense. Both groups receive a real, approved iron drip.
How long: The study completes in late 2026.
Clinic visits: Not published on the public record. So ask the site directly before you agree to anything.
Phone calls: Not published on the public record.
Most invasive part: An iron drip and repeated blood draws in a child.
Setting: Outpatient.
Where it runs: Nearest open sites are in Miami FL. A Buford GA site is listed but not yet open.
Worth knowing: a site at Buford, Georgia, about 3 hours away, is listed but is registered as not yet recruiting. So it has not opened, and we will watch it for you.
Full study record: View on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Iron for Children With Kidney Disease

AMAG Pharmaceuticals / Drug

The same comparison of two approved iron drips, but in children whose anemia comes from kidney disease. That group is treated routinely and studied very little.

Late stage Children only

Payment is not published. Notably, the nearest site is in West Virginia.

Get on the list →

More details

Why researchers are excited: anemia in kidney disease is common in children, yet almost all the evidence comes from adults.

Who this study is looking for

Children with anemia caused by long term kidney disease
Also, the full rules are on the study record, so read them before you call
Besides that, A parent or guardian can travel to the site
Finally, both treatments are already approved iron drips

Probably not a fit if: distance again. The nearest open site is about 6 hours from Charlotte and 7 from Columbia.

Placebo group: None in the usual sense. Both groups receive a real, approved iron drip.
How long: Not published in short form. Ask the site for the current schedule.
Clinic visits: Not published on the public record.
Phone calls: Not published on the public record.
Most invasive part: An iron drip and repeated blood draws in a child.
Setting: Outpatient.
Where it runs: West Virginia University, Morgantown WV 26506, about 400 miles from Charlotte.
Why we list it: to show the whole map honestly. So you can see that the gap here is national rather than local.
Full study record: View on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Not sure which one fits you?

First, answer a few quick health questions. Then we keep them on file. Finally, we call you when an iron study opens near Columbia. No account, no paperwork.

See if I may fit one of these studies →

✓ Takes just a few minutes✓ No cost, no obligation✓ You are never enrolled by checking

Why This Matters Here in Columbia

The tiredness that gets waved away

Exhaustion that sleep does not fix. Breathlessness on the stairs. Hair shedding, brittle nails, restless legs at night, brain fog, cold hands. So it gets blamed on stress, or work, or parenting, or simply getting older. Meanwhile, a standard blood count can look perfectly normal for years while your iron stores run down.

What is actually being studied here

Lexington, West Columbia, Irmo, Cayce, Sumter. Low iron turns up everywhere, and it is badly under diagnosed. However, the studies that remain in this field run at university hospitals rather than community clinics. So none of them lands in the Midlands. In fact, the nearest open one is nearly 6 hours away, in Birmingham.

So why is there nothing to join?

The treatments already work. Six iron drips are approved in the US. So there is no blockbuster waiting at the end of a new trial.
The questions left are small. Is every other day as good as daily? What dose in dialysis? Meanwhile, those get answered at university hospitals.
The real gap is testing. Far too few people ever get a ferritin test. In fact, that is what keeps people tired for years, not a missing drug.
Sponsors start where they already have sites. A company opens where it has run studies before. So a metro can be skipped for years for no medical reason.
The rules are narrow. Many of these studies want a very specific patient. However, that cuts both ways, because being unusual sometimes opens a door.

Research is a care option, not a last resort

There is a saying in medicine that research is a care option rather than a last resort. Generally, that is the honest way to think about a study. You are not giving up your own doctor. Instead, you are adding a second set of eyes. Notably, in the pregnancy study nobody goes without iron, because every person gets it by one route or the other.

What being on the list actually gets you

This is a directory, not a clinic. So being on the list is simple and it costs nothing.

What you actually get

A call from us the day a new study opens near you
The clinic name and number, so you call them yourself
A check against every other study on our list, not just this one
No cost, and no insurance needed
Roughly $100 a visit for your time, once you are in a study
You are never enrolled by checking

So add it up. There is nothing here to join, and we will not dress that up. However, this is one of the most treatable problems in medicine, and it does not need a trial. So the useful thing on this page is one test name, one number, and one question about where the iron is going.

What Is Actually Happening With Iron Deficiency

The medicine is finished. The finding is not.

There Are Two Stages, and That Is the Whole Story

Stage one is low iron without anemia. Your stores are running down but your blood count still looks fine. So you feel awful and every test comes back normal, sometimes for years. Stage two is when the stores run out and the blood count finally drops. Meanwhile, that is usually when somebody gets diagnosed, which is far later than it should have been.

Ask for the Ferritin Test by Name

A standard blood count measures haemoglobin, which only tells you whether you are already anemic. Ferritin is the test that finds the problem earlier. As a 2025 review in JAMA put it, ferritin is the first line test for iron deficiency, because iron deficiency is the only cause of a low result.

Know the Number, Not the Word

Low iron is usually defined as ferritin below 30. However, many labs flag normal as low as 10 or 15, which is why people are told they are fine when they are not. So ask for the actual number rather than accepting the word normal. Also ask for transferrin saturation, because under 20 percent is a second signal.

How Common This Is

The same JAMA review put it plainly. Low iron affects roughly 2 billion people worldwide and about 14 percent of US adults. So this is one of the most treatable problems in medicine. Meanwhile, Angela Weyand of the University of Michigan found that symptoms get normalised in young women, which she called an under recognised problem with real harms.

Pills First, Usually

For most straightforward cases, iron tablets are the right start. As Thomas DeLoughery of Oregon Health and Science University put it, if somebody has never tried iron and the situation is not complicated, oral iron is the way to go. Also, taking it every other day may work better than daily, because daily dosing can blunt absorption.

When Pills Cannot Win

There are situations where tablets have no chance, and you are entitled to say so. Michael Auerbach named heavy periods, where losses outpace what pills can absorb, and the later stages of pregnancy. He also said that in inflammatory bowel disease oral iron makes symptoms worse. So in those cases a drip is an ordinary approved treatment rather than a last resort.

Why There Is Nothing Here to Join

Six iron drips are already approved in the US, plus a range of tablets. So there is no new cure to test, and the studies that remain ask small refinement questions at university hospitals. The real open question is not which drug. Instead, it is who ever gets tested. In short, the absence of a trial near you is a sign the medicine is finished and the delivery is not.

Research Sites Near Columbia

None of them runs an iron study today. But sites add new studies all the time, so it is worth knowing what sits near you.

Prisma Health Richland Hospital

Downtown Columbia / 37+ active studies

Cancer, blood disorders, broad hospital research

The flagship Prisma Health hospital in the Midlands. Also, by far the biggest trial operation in the Columbia metro.

Visit Website →

University of South Carolina

Columbia / 27+ active studies

Stroke recovery, physical activity, community health

Notably, a research university that runs federally funded health studies across the Midlands. Specifically, topics range from stroke rehab to disease prevention.

Visit Website →

Bogan Sleep Consultants

Columbia / 7+ active studies

Narcolepsy, sleep disorders

One of the best known private sleep research sites in the Southeast. Also, it has run sleep trials for decades.

Prisma Health Heart Hospital on Richland Medical Park Drive

Prisma Health Midlands Cardiovascular

Columbia / 4+ active studies

Cardiovascular disease, heart failure

The heart and vessel research arm of Prisma Health in the Midlands. So it is the natural home for cholesterol trials in Columbia.

Visit Website →

Prisma Health Children’s Hospital, Midlands

Columbia / 4+ active studies

Pediatric growth, cystic fibrosis

Basically, the Midlands hub for children’s research inside the Prisma Health system.

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Columbia Dermatology & Aesthetics

Columbia / 4+ active studies

Hidradenitis suppurativa, psoriasis, obesity

A skin care practice with its own research team. It runs both skin and weight studies.

Velocity Clinical Research site in Columbia SC

Velocity Clinical Research, Columbia

Columbia / Multiple active studies

COPD, skin conditions, vaccines

Part of one of the biggest research site networks in the country. Besides, it is just the kind of site the huge outcome trials lean on.

Visit Website →

Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center

Garners Ferry Road, Columbia / 2+ active studies

Atherosclerosis, liver disease

Columbia’s VA medical center runs studies, including ones on clogged arteries. For veterans, it is often the first door.

Visit Website →

Objective Health research site in Columbia SC

Objective Health, Columbia

Columbia / 2+ active studies

Celiac disease, fatty liver disease

Once called Columbia Digestive Health Research. Now it is part of the Objective Health network. Specifically, it runs gut and liver studies, including fatty liver trials.

Columbia Gastroenterology Associates

Columbia / Active studies

Digestive conditions

A long-running gut health practice. Also, it takes part in digestive trials around Columbia.

What to Expect in an Iron Study

New to studies? Here is how one works, step by step.

Prescreening

First comes a short phone call or online form. Also, it takes about 10 to 15 minutes. The staff check whether you might fit. Then they tell you what is open.

Screening Visit

Next the clinic runs the tests that decide it, which usually means blood work. Also, they go through the consent form line by line, and you can bring somebody with you.

Treatment Period

Then the study begins. So you take the study drug or the placebo on the agreed schedule. Meanwhile, your own doctor keeps managing everything else.

Follow-Up

Finally, there is a check in period at the end. Also, your own doctor gets the results, and you can stop at any point without affecting your care.

Anemia and Iron Deficiency Trial FAQs

Real answers about iron deficiency studies near Columbia SC.

Is there an iron or anemia study near Columbia?

No, and the gap is national rather than local. We checked five separate ways, including reading every site of every multi site trial one by one. Not one iron deficiency study is recruiting anywhere in the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia or Tennessee. So the nearest is nearly 6 hours away, in Birmingham.

Why is there nothing to join?

Because this is not an unsolved problem. It is an unexecuted one. Six iron drips are already approved in the US, alongside a range of tablets, so there is no new cure to test. The studies that remain ask small refinement questions, and those run at university hospitals. In short, the medicine is finished and the delivery is not.

What test should I ask for?

A serum ferritin, and ask for it by name. A standard blood count measures haemoglobin, which only tells you whether you are already anemic. As a 2025 review in JAMA put it, ferritin is the first line test, because low iron is the only cause of a low result. So do not accept the words your blood count was normal.

What number counts as low?

Low iron is usually defined as ferritin below 30. However, many labs flag normal as low as 10 or 15, which is why so many people are told they are fine. So ask for the actual number rather than the word. Also ask for transferrin saturation, because under 20 percent is a second signal.

Should I take pills or ask for a drip?

Pills first, for most straightforward cases. As Thomas DeLoughery of Oregon Health and Science University put it, if you have never tried iron and the situation is not complicated, oral iron is the way to go. Also, taking it every other day may absorb better than every day, and vitamin C helps while coffee and calcium do not.

When are pills the wrong answer?

When losses outrun what your gut can absorb, and you are entitled to say so. Michael Auerbach named heavy periods and the later stages of pregnancy as situations where pills have no chance. He also said oral iron makes symptoms worse in inflammatory bowel disease. So after bowel surgery, or with coeliac disease, a drip is an ordinary treatment rather than a last resort.

Why does my doctor need to find the cause?

Because low iron in an adult is a symptom rather than a diagnosis. The real question is where the iron is going, and in men or in women past menopause that often means slow bleeding in the gut. So treating the number without asking the question is the most common serious mistake here. Meanwhile, in people who menstruate the cause is usually obvious, but the losses still need managing.

Does it cost anything to be on the list?

No. There is no cost, and no insurance is needed. Tether is a nonprofit list, so we do not run studies and we are not paid to send you anywhere. Also, being on the list never enrolls anyone in anything. You would always call the clinic yourself.

How common is this really?

Very. A 2025 review in JAMA put it at roughly 2 billion people worldwide and about 14 percent of US adults. One study found around 40 percent of US females aged 12 to 21 have iron low enough to cause symptoms, while only about 6 percent meet the definition of anemia. So the great majority are symptomatic and invisible to a standard blood count.

Where can I get care for this near Columbia SC?

Prisma Health and Lexington Medical Center both run blood and primary care clinics across the Midlands. Also, ask for a serum ferritin by name, and ask for the number rather than the word normal. Your own doctor can order it, and you do not need a specialist to start. Meanwhile, if you are an adult with low iron and no obvious cause, ask what is being done to find out why.

Ready to Explore a Study?

Get on the list, or just reach out to our Columbia team. No pressure. Also, no sales pitch.

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← Back to All Clinical Trials

Sources

Study details and per-site recruiting status verified against ClinicalTrials.gov on August 15, 2026, across five separate methods including a per-site read of every multi-site trial. On that date not one iron deficiency study was recruiting anywhere in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia or Tennessee. Study availability and criteria change; the research clinic confirms everything before you enroll.

Tell me when an iron study opens near Columbia →