Effect of COVID-19 Vaccine on Blood Donor Deferral Patterns in PIMS, Islamabad

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effect of COVID-19 vaccine on overall donor deferral patterns in PIMS, Islamabad. Study Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study. Settings: This study was carried out at Blood Bank of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad Pakistan. Duration: January 2019 to December 2021. Methods: The participants for donation were included in this cross-sectional study on the basis of certain criteria by taking their previous medical history physical examination, COVID-19 vaccination status, and transfusion-transmissible infections (TTI) screening results. All those donors who don’t meet these criteria were deferred. On the basis of causes, deferrals were categorized into temporary or permanent. Results: This study included a total of 84,669 potential donors during a period of three years (January 2019- December 2021), out of which 82,072 donors met inclusion criteria and donated blood during this period whereas 2597 donors were deferred. The overall deferred rate was 3.2% (n=2,717), out of which 13% (n=342) were deferred permanently and87% (n=2375) were deferred temporarily. The leading cause of permanent deferral includes hepatitis C (n=142), hepatitis B (n=106) and cardiac diseases (n=94). On the other hand, leading causes of temporary deferrals include COVID-19 vaccination, being under weight, underage, low HB, short gap, fatty veins and fever. Conclusion: The identification of deferrals is an important step for safe transfusions and helps to formulate criteria for efficient donor selection. The current study indicates a 3.2% deferral rate for blood donors and demands preventive steps for both donor and patient safety against HBV, HCV and AIDS.