Is iron in the blood the same as iron the metal?

No, they are as different as oxygen that you breathe and oxygen in water that you drink. First: Iron is not a molecular compound, so you can not speak about iron molecules. read more

Pure iron is pretty much nonexistent in nature, the only known examples coming from iron meteorites. Most iron on earth is in some form of an iron oxide, aka iron ore. This ore is then shipped to refineries where it is made into iron alloys or steel by mixing it with other elements like manganese and carbon. read more

Iron is an element on the periodic table, and in both these cases we are referring to iron as the element, so they are essentially the same thing. Iron in your blood and iron in metal are both the same element, but they are in different chemical environments. read more

The molecule of hemoglobin contains iron in its molecular structure which is the exact same chemical element as the metal. You don't actually have iron free floating in you're blood but it's part of hemoglobin. read more