Donor Health Questionnaire and Physical Examination as a Tool for Re-Examination of Causes for Donor Deferral in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Objective: To reassess the reasons for blood donor deferrals as per donor history questionnaire and physical examination findings. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Blood Bank, Dr. Ziauddin Hospital, Karachi Pakistan, from Jan 2017 to Dec 2020. Methodology: After approval from the Ethical Review Committee, all donors reporting at the blood bank were included. All donors were interrogated via a detailed donor health questionnaire. Data for donor history and physical examination findings were retrieved from the Blood Bank Information Software System (BBIS). Results: During the study period, 33,095 donors reported at the.Blood Bank. Of the total donors, 25,531(77.1%) were accepted and donated blood, while 7564(22.9%) were deferred for different reasons. The majority of donations were from males (32773,99.0%), and female donations accounted for 1%, while females accounted for more deferrals as compared to males. Most deferrals were due to low Hemoglobin (2722,36%), followed by injection/needle stick injuries (1994,26.4%).Less common causes observed were donors not feeling fit for donations, medications, etc. Conclusion: In our study, the deferral rate was 22.9%, with low haemoglobin being the most common cause, followed by injections/needle stick injuries.