Abstract
Whole blood donors may experience post-donation symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, or headache after blood donation, which could influence donor retention. We aimed to examine post-donation symptoms during 1 week after whole blood donation, investigate donor characteristics associated with symptoms, and evaluate associations between symptoms and donor return. During 1 week, whole blood donors who donated successfully at one of the collection centers in The Netherlands were invited to participate. Three thousand seventy six donors filled in a diary, assessing post-donation symptoms during days 1 to 6 after donation. We used linear mixed models analyses to determine the change in post-donation symptoms after donation for male and female donors separately. Furthermore, we investigated associations between post-donation symptoms and donors' physical characteristics using multivariable regression and determined associations between symptoms and donor return. Donors reported fatigue as the most common symptom, with approximately 3% of donors experiencing severe problems at the first day after donation. Multiple symptoms improved significantly up to day 3 after whole blood donation. Age, BMI, blood pressure (male donors), and blood volume (female donors) were significantly associated with post-donation symptoms. Donors with less fatigue after whole blood donation were more likely to return for their next donation within 31 days after receiving an invitation. Post-symptoms improve up to 3 days after whole blood donation. Our results may help blood collection centers to identify donors more prone to post-donation symptoms and provide personalized information about the presence and course of post-donation symptoms, possibly increasing donor return rates.
Highlights
To protect the quality of blood products and safeguard the health of blood donors, assessing the suitability of whole blood donors is a rigorous process.[1]
Blood donors are asked for consent for their information and leftover material of their donation to be used for medical scientific research purposes and improving the quality of blood supply
644 donors were deferred from donating due to low haemoglobin levels, a visit to a non-European country in the preceding four weeks, the risk of an infectious disease or other medical reasons. Another 141 donors were not invited to participate, as the volume drawn during blood donation was below 450 mL
Summary
To protect the quality of blood products and safeguard the health of blood donors, assessing the suitability of whole blood donors is a rigorous process.[1]. A whole blood donation may affect donors’ health and donors may experience adverse events such as vasovagal reactions, nerve injuries or bruises after whole blood donation.[2]. Multiple studies have investigated adverse events and donors’ wellbeing, knowledge is mainly based on on-site observations.[2-4]. Post-donation symptoms such as weakness, dizziness or fatigue have received less attention, while these may be experienced for multiple days after a whole blood donation.[3, 5]. This study adds to the literature by focusing on the days following donation to map the immediate natural history of symptom progression and change. Whole blood donors may experience post-donation symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness or headache after blood donation, which could influence donor retention. We aimed to examine postdonation symptoms during one week after whole blood donation, investigate donor characteristics associated with symptoms and evaluate associations between symptoms and donor return
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