Safety Of Blood Supply Research Articles

COVID-19 Pandemic and Blood Donation Services: Perspective of Low-Resource Country 10.31829/2641-7456/ahs2021-5(1)-013

In March 2020, the World Health Organization considered coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) as a worldwide pandemic.1 The provision of a continuous supply of safe blood and blood components is an essential issue especially in low resource countries as Egypt with a high rate of obstetric hemorrhage.2 However, there are situations in which either the supply of blood may be affected, or the safety of the blood supply may be compromised as in the event of COVID-19 pandemic.3

Donor deferral and return patterns – a South African perspective

AbstractBackgroundDonor eligibility assessment and subsequent return after deferral are key in maintaining an adequate and safe blood supply. Eligibility criteria should be reviewed regularly to ensure regional relevance and impact on donor deferral and return. Large‐scale studies investigating donor deferral and return in Africa are currently lacking.Study design and methodsOperationally collected blood donation data on whole blood donations at the South African National Blood Service during the five years from January 2015 to December 2019 were extracted and analysed. Separate multivariable logistic regression models for factors associated with donor deferral and donor return were developed.ResultsOf the 5 068 638 donor presentations, 869 840 (17·2%) resulted in deferral of which out of range haemoglobin was most common (45·9%). New (aOR 3·99; 95% CI 3·97–4·01), female (aOR 2·51; 95% CI 2·50–2·53) and Black African (aOR 1·90; 95% CI 1·89–1·91) donors had greater odds of being deferred compared to Repeat, male and White donors, respectively. Of the donors deferred during 2015–2018, 328 306 (47·2%) returned within 12 months. Odds of returning increased with increasing age. Lower odds of return were noted among female (aOR 0·82; 95% CI 0·81–0·83) and Black African (aOR 0·75; 95% CI 0·74–0·76) donors.ConclusionWe confirmed high proportions of deferral among SANBS donors with almost half returning within 12 month. Donor deferral and return patterns differed significantly by donor characteristics, the latter also by deferral indication. Further understanding the interaction between haemoglobin deferral and changing donor demographics may assist in refining eligibility criteria and recruitment efforts.

Assessment of the Knowledge, Perception and Practice of Voluntary Blood Donation among Physicians in a Tertiary Health Facility, Uyo, South-South Nigeria.

Provision of safe, affordable and adequate supply of blood and blood products is a daunting public health issue in developing countries. In Nigeria, there is an inadmissibly high dependence on family surrogate and remunerated blood donors which carries an attendant increased risk of transfusion transmissible infections. Physicians represent a potential, stable and sustainable safe donor pool. Assessment of the blood donation practices of these health professionals is essential in engendering effective strategy for sustaining adequate and safe blood supply in the hospitals. To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of voluntary blood donation among physicians, to identify, recruit and retain potential voluntary blood donors among them and to determine the associations between blood donation and gender, marital status, duration of practice and professional cadre of the physicians. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Uyo. Pre-tested questionnaire were administered to 110 physicians in the tertiary hospital. Majority of the respondents (95.1%) had a good knowledge of the risk of transmission of infections by blood transfusion. The risk of transmission of HIV, HBV, HCV and Syphilis was affirmed by 99.8%, 95.6%, 80.1% and 48.2% respectively. Forty-five(40.9%) physicians had donated blood in the past, with 32 (71.1%) donating less than once a year, 10(22.2%) between 1-3 times a year and 3(6.7%) more than thrice a year. Most (56.9%) donated voluntarily, 34.3% donated for friends and relatives, 5.7% donated in order to know their HIV, HBV and HCV status and 3.1% for financial gratification. There was significant association between blood donation practice and gender but not with marital status, duration of practice and professional cadre of the physicians as P values were 0.002, 0.767, 0.135 and 0.625 respectively. Physicians in the study expressed good knowledge of voluntary blood donation and had a positive attitude towards donation but there were inconsistencies in their practice of blood donation. Thus, regular and rigorous motivational and educational campaign should be intensified among physicians to improve their overall blood donation practice.

Assessing the global burden of hemorrhage: The global blood supply, deficits, and potential solutions.

There is a critical shortage of blood available for transfusion in many low- and middle-income countries. The consequences of this scarcity are dire, resulting in uncounted morbidity and mortality from trauma, obstetric hemorrhage, and pediatric anemias, among numerous other conditions. The process of collecting blood from a donor to administering it to a patient involves many facets from donor availability to blood processing to blood delivery. Each step faces particular challenges in low- and middle-income countries. Optimizing existing strategies and introducing new approaches will be imperative to ensure a safe and sufficient blood supply worldwide.

Seropositivity of Transfusion Transmitted Infections among Blood Donors in Hilly Region of Karnataka, India

Introduction: One of the major problem associated with blood transfusions are Transfusion Transmitted Infections (TTIs). Accurate estimates of risk of TTIs are essential for monitoring the safety of blood supply. National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) guidelines state that all donor’s blood samples should mandatorily be tested for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Syphilis and Malaria. Aim: To estimate the seropositivity of HIV, Hepatitis B surface Antigen (HBsAg), HCV, Syphilis and Malaria among blood donors for tertiary care hospital of hilly region in Karnataka, India. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done from January 2012 to March 2018 in District Hospital Blood bank, Department of Pathology, Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences, Madikeri, Karnataka, India. The blood donors were screened with detailed history and physical examination according to Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of Blood bank as per Guidelines for Blood donor selection and referral. Donor blood sample was subjected to screening investigations for TTIs diseases: HIV, HBV, HCV, Syphilis and Malaria. Data collected was tabulated in Microscoft Excel and results were expressed as percentage. Results: The study included total 9599 blood donors. The total number of male donors was 8985 and female donors were 614. There were 74 seropositive donors of which 71 (96%) were males and 3 (4.0%) were females. The total seropositivity rate of TTIs was 0.77% among which the incidence of seropositivity was higher in males as compared to females. There were 55 donors (0.58%) positive for HBV, eight donors (0.08%) positive for Syphilis, five donors (0.05%) positive for HIV, four donors (0.04%) positive for Malaria and two donors (0.02%) positive for HCV. Conclusion: Screening and better selection of donors by testing for TTIs are necessary to improve blood safety in the blood transfusion centre of hospital.

Higher Motivation but Poor Knowledge of Blood Donation Among Residential Students and Teachers of Religious Institutions in Bangladesh – A Cross-Sectional Baseline Study

The availability of voluntary nonremunerated blood donors (VNRBD) is a major concern in low- and middle-income countries including Bangladesh. There is a substantial paucity of safe blood supply against the expected demand. This study aims to explore the status of knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding blood donation of students and teachers of residential religious academic (RRA) institutions at the community level in Bangladesh. Religious institutions were selected through simple random sampling and the cross-sectional survey was conducted among 512 participants at Jamalpur district in Bangladesh. Descriptive statistics and stepwise binary logistic regression were performed with statistical significance defined as p < 0.05. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) as an extraction method to evaluate a linear KAP relationship regarding blood donation. The results showed that over 90% of the participants were students, non-smokers, and aged 18 to 30 year. The majority (92%) did not ever donate blood to anyone, yet over 42% wanted to be regular donors. More than 80% considered blood donation as a moral responsibility and an Islamic act. The common reasons for not donating blood were lack of knowledge (40%), lack of opportunity (20%), thinking it was harmful to health (21%), being scared of needles (16%), and no financial benefit (5.5%). Interestingly, more than 67% did not know their blood group and about 61 % of the respondents said they did not hear or could not remember about any blood donation program. The participants had poor knowledge of general eligibility criteria but an overall positive attitude towards blood donation. In PCA, two principal components with eigenvalues greater than 1 were retained explaining 77.42% of the total variance. The first component was influenced by knowledge and practice compared to the second component which was largely influenced by attitude. Teachers were more likely to donate blood (AOR: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.03-3.81) and possess good practice behaviour (AOR: 4.79, 95% CI: 2.23-11.92). This research highlights that a large portion of the potential healthy donors is being overlooked although they could be a valuable resource to alleviate the ongoing blood donation crisis. Funding Information: None to declare. Declaration of Interests: None to declare. Ethics Approval Statement: The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the institutional review board of Biomedical Research Foundation, Bangladesh (Ref. no: BRF/ERB/2018/004). Informed written consent was obtained from all the participants, and confidentiality was maintained during and after the data collection.

Primary prevention of stroke in children with sickle cell anemia in sub-Saharan Africa: rationale and design of phase III randomized clinical trial

Strokes in children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) are associated with significant morbidity and premature death. Primary stroke prevention in children with SCA involves screening for abnormal transcranial Doppler (TCD) velocity coupled with regular blood transfusion therapy for children with abnormal velocities, for at least one year. However, in Africa, where the majority of children with SCA live, regular blood transfusions are not feasible due to inadequate supply of safe blood, cost, and the reluctance of caregivers to accept transfusion therapy for their children. We describe the Primary Prevention of Stroke in Children with Sickle Cell Disease in Nigeria Trial [ S troke Pr evention i n N i g eria (SPRING) trial, NCT02560935], a three-center double-blinded randomized controlled Phase III clinical trial to 1) determine the efficacy of moderate fixed-dose (20 mg/kg/day) versus low fixed-dose (10 mg/kg/day) hydroxyurea therapy for primary stroke prevention; 2) determine the efficacy of moderate fixed-dose hydroxyurea for decreasing the incidence of all cause-hospitalization (pain, acute chest syndrome, infection, other) compared to low fixed-dose hydroxyurea. We will test the primary hypothesis that there will be a 66% relative risk reduction of strokes in children with SCA and abnormal TCD measurements, randomly allocated, for a minimum of three years to receive moderate fixed-dose versus low fixed-dose hydroxyurea (total n = 220). The results of this trial will advance the care of children with SCA in sub-Saharan Africa, while improving research capacity for future studies to prevent strokes in children with SCA.

Maintaining adequate donations and a sustainable blood supply: Lessons learned.

BackgroundThe availability of a safe blood supply is a key component of transfusion medicine. A decade of decreased blood use, decreased payment for products, and a dwindling donor base have placed the sustainability of the US blood supply at risk.Study Design and MethodsA literature review was performed for blood center (BC) and hospital disaster management, chronically transfusion‐dependent diseases, and appropriate use of group O‐negative red blood cells (RBCs), and the Choosing Wisely campaign. The aim was to identify current practice and to make recommendations for BC and hospital actions.ResultsWhile BCs are better prepared to handle disasters than after the 9/11 attacks, messaging to the public remains difficult, as donors often do not realize that blood transfused during a disaster was likely collected before the event. BCs and transfusion services should participate in drafting disaster response plans. Hospitals should maintain inventories adequate for patients in the event supply is disrupted. Providing specialty products for transfusion‐dependent patients can strain collections, lead to increased use of group O RBCs, and create logistical inventory challenges for hospitals. The AABB Choosing Wisely initiative addresses overuse of blood components to optimally use this precious resource. Group O‐negative RBCs should be transfused only to patients who truly need them.ConclusionsCollecting and maintaining a blood supply robust enough to handle disasters and transfusion‐dependent patients in need of specialty products is challenging. Collaboration of all parties should help to optimize resources, ensure appropriate collections, improve patient care, and ultimately result in a robust, sustainable blood supply.

Millennials’ socio-psychology and blood donation intention developed from social media communications: A survey of university students

Less than 1% of South-Africans donate blood annually. New donors are required, especially from Millennials, who are large in numbers and influential. Being more receptive to social media communications and altruistic, millennials are the hope of safe blood supply. However, the drivers of millennials’ positive attitude and behavioural intentions (BI) towards donating blood need examination. This study used ideas from Social Cognition Theory, Health Belief Model and Theory of Planned Behaviour to examine how social media communications impact blood donation attitudes and behavioural intention through some socio-psychological outcomes among young adult Millennials at a university in South-Africa. Quantitative data was collected from 650 respondents. Structural equation modelling results revealed that social media communications positively impacted awareness, perception, peers, family, and behavioural intention. Motivation, awareness, peers and family positively influenced attitudes, which in turn, predicted blood donation intention. Blood donations agencies and public policy-makers should seek ways to convert Millennials’ positive attitudes and BI into actual blood donation.

Seroprevalence of human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B and hepatitis C among blood donors at a tertiary care hospital in North India

Background: The prevalence of transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs), in blood transfusion services are a major problem across blood banks and hospitals in the world. In, India, the effort to provide safe transfusion to patients is a heightened problem for various reasons. In this study, seroprevalence of Transfusion transmitted infections such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) was investigated in a pool of blood donors.Methods: The data collection was carried out for a period of two years from, January 2017 to December 2018, and total sample size of donors was 38,142. We studied the frequency, gender wise distribution, donor (first time vs repeat) wise distribution and yearly trend of seroprevalence of TTIs in blood units donated at our hospital.Results: A total of 37,457 (98.2%) males and 685 (1.79%) females donated blood during the study period. The results suggest that among the blood donors, the prevalence of HCV was highest (0.77%) followed by HBV (0.46%) and HIV (0.13%). Seropositivity was found to be more in first-time donors (0.83%) as compared to repeat-donors (0.52%). Seropositivity was found to be more among males (1.35%) than females (0.01%). The discussion suggests underlying reasons for the results along-with future direction of research.Conclusions: The need of the hour is to encourage repeat voluntary blood donors in order to maintain safe supply of blood and its components to donors. Efforts should be made to include females in the blood donor pool by increasing awareness and through dedicated efforts to improve female health and nutrition.

The Prevalence of Transfusion-transmitted Infections among Blood Donors in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia.

ObjectivesBlood bank centers routinely screen for hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to ensure the safety of blood supply and thus prevent the dissemination of these viruses via blood transfusion. We sought to evaluate the detection of transfusion-transmitted infection (TTI) markers using standard serological methods and nucleic acid testing (NAT) among blood donors in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia.MethodsDonated blood units were assessed for the presence or absence of HBV, HCV, and HIV using two screening method: serology and NAT. Reactive blood samples were then subjected to serological confirmatory and NAT discriminatory assays.ResultsA total of 9669 donors were recruited from September 2017 to June 2018. Among these, 36 donors were reactive either for HBV, HCV, or HIV by serological testing and eight by NAT screening. However, only 10 (three for HBV and seven for HCV) donors tested positive using serological testing and five (two for HBV and three for HCV) by NAT discriminatory assays. Note that all five NAT positive donors detected in the NAT discriminatory assays were confirmed to be serologically reactive. Therefore, the prevalence of HBV, HCV, and HIV was 0.03%, 0.1%, and 0.0%, respectively, in our donor pool.ConclusionsBoth serological and NAT screening and confirmatory assays should be used routinely to reduce the risk of infection transmission via the transfusion of blood and blood components.

The impact of COVID-19 on transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients of Karachi, Pakistan: A single-center experience.

ObjectivesWith the advent of COVID-19 in Pakistan, the already fragmented blood transfusion services (BTS) received a severe blow, putting the lives of transfusion-dependent thalassemia children on stake. This study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 on blood transfusion therapy (BTT) of thalassemia patients and suggest ways to ensure safe and reliable blood supplies amid such health crises.Material and methodsA retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2019 (before COVID-19) to July 2020 (during COVID-19) based on the data provided by a thalassemia center, named Help International Welfare Trust, Karachi, Pakistan. SPSS version 24.0 was used for the data analysis. Data were described in the form of means and percentages.ResultsThere was a significant reduction in the consumption of PRBCs bags after the emergence of COVID-19 (P = 0.002). Moreover, the number of thalassemia patients receiving BTT was dropped by 10.56% during the pandemic. There was a strong negative correlation observed between the rising cases of COVID-19 in Pakistan and the number of patients missing their therapy sessions (r = −0.914, P = 0.030). A considerable decline in the reserves of all Rhesus-negative blood groups amid the COVID-19 outbreak was also observed.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the already suboptimal care catered to thalassemia patients in Karachi, Pakistan. The fear of the virus contraction coupled with the lockdown and restricted mobility has disrupted the entire transfusion chain from donor to the recipient. Collaborated efforts by the government and healthcare authorities are essential to ensure sufficient blood for thalassemia patients amid the pandemic.

Організація та державне регулювання діяльності служби крові в Україні

Організація та державне регулювання діяльності служби крові в Україні

Blood supply sufficiency and safety management in Iran during the COVID-19 outbreak.

BackgroundCOVID‐19 first appeared in Iran on 19 February 2020, and then spread rapidly over the country. In this article, we review the action plan of the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization with respect to this disease.Method and materialsWe collected data on blood donations and RBC inventory for the first 8 weeks of the outbreak. We also evaluated the trend of blood donations and RBC inventory and compared them with the data of the past year. We include a summary of actions taken by the National Committee on Management of COVID‐19 outbreak.ResultsBlood donations decreased from 33 275 to 23 465 units during the first 2 weeks of the outbreak with a corresponding decrease in the RBC inventory. But after that, donations gradually increased from 23 465 to 29 665 units. RBC inventory levels improved at the same time. Then, the Iranian New Year’s holiday resulted in another downward trend. After the holiday, blood donations revived, along with the RBC inventory.DiscussionAlthough it appears that this virus cannot be transmitted through transfusion, changes in lifestyle had a significant impact on reducing blood supply. Following implemented measures, we saw an upward trend in blood donations and an adequate supply of RBC units in blood centres, helped by a reduction in demand by hospitals. Blood centres need to be more prepared to manage future viral disasters, especially in case of transfusion‐transmissible infections.

Emergency response to COVID‐19 epidemic: One Chinese blood centre's experience

ObjectiveThe COVID‐19 epidemic has caused a significant global social and economic impact since December 2019. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the emergency response of a Chinese blood centre on maintaining both the safety and the sufficiency of blood supply during large, emerging, infectious epidemics.Materials and MethodsEarly on in the outbreak of COVID‐19, the Chengdu Blood Center developed strategies and implemented a series of measures, including enhanced recruitment efforts, addition of new donation deferral criteria and notification after donation, optimisation of donor experience, development and implementation of a new coronavirus nucleic acid detection technology platform for blood screening and screening all donations for SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA to maximumly protect the safety of blood supply during a time of unclear risk.ResultsStarting on February 20, the immediate satisfaction rate of blood product orders in Chengdu city's clinical settings reached 100%, and there was no case of blood transfusion infection.ConclusionThe recent experience during the outbreak of SARS‐CoV‐2 reminded us that improvement in the areas of national and international collaborative programmes for dealing with blood availability and safety concerns during early stages of a disaster and regional and national mechanisms for timely communication with the general public on behalf of blood services should help to better prepare us for future disasters.

Knowledge Regarding Blood Donation among Students of a College in Western Nepal

Introduction: Blood can save millions of lives, and young people are the hope and future of safe blood supply worldwide. This study was conducted with an objective to assess knowledge level regarding blood donation among college students. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at Shree Mandavya Multiple Campus, Palpa, among all years of Bachelor in Business Studies students. Census sampling technique was used and the sample size was 78. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square) was used for analysis. The level of significance (p) was set at 0.05. Results: The mean age of the participants was 19.5 years. Majority (67.9%) of the participants were male and the remaining 32.1% were female. Most (87.2%) of them had never donated blood. Few (38.5%) of them had history of blood requirement in the family whereas, 23.1% had blood donation in family. More than half (51.3%) of participants had inadequate level of knowledge regarding blood donation. The study showed that sex (p=0.04), history of self-blood donation (p=0.03) and history of blood requirement in the family (p=0.01) were found statistically significant with level of knowledge regarding blood transfusion. Conclusion: This study showed that majority of the students had inadequate knowledge regarding blood donation. Thus, it is very important to adopt strategies to sensitize and motivate them towards voluntary blood donation.

Exploring predictors of Australian community members' blood donation intentions and blood donation-related behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continuing to accelerate and blood collection agencies (BCAs) warning of shortages, it is critical to identify the current determinants of donor behavior for donors and nondonors. In May and June 2020, Australian residents who believed themselves eligible to donate blood responded to measures assessing constructs from an integrated protection motivation theory, organizational trust, and theory of planned behavior framework, with donor status also assessed. A total of 507 residents (47% male, mean age 28.69 years; 272 had donated/attempted to donate) participated. A revised structural equation model was a good fit to these data. In this model, perceived risk, severity, anxiety, and response cost associated with donating during the COVID-19 pandemic underpinned threat appraisals, while response efficacy, self-efficacy, and attitude toward donating during COVID-19 informed coping appraisals. Trust in the BCA predicted lower threat and higher coping appraisals, and higher coping appraisals predicted stronger subjective norms. Intention to donate during the COVID-19 pandemic was positively predicted by subjective norm and self-efficacy. Donation-related behavior was positively predicted by intention, with this relationship stronger for nondonors than donors. Self-efficacy and approval from others, underpinned by coping appraisals and organizational trust, play a critical role in intentions to donate. BCAs that focus on maintaining trust with (potential) donors, providing clear messaging stating the minimal threat of contracting COVID-19 from donating and the protective measures in place, and showing how donating is achievable, may help to ensure a safe and secure blood supply throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transfusion-transmissible dengue infections

Dengue is an important global health problem and is endemic in many developing and developed countries. Transmission of dengue may occur in several ways and information on transfusion-transmitted dengue is limited. We conducted a literature search on transfusion-related dengue using the PubMed, Scopus, Embase and Google Scholar databases and have summarized the findings. A number of apparently healthy blood donors have been found to be infected with the dengue virus (DENV) and thus may transmit the virus onto recipients of this blood. It is not possible to identify and exclude such donors at the donor selection stage and thus reliable screening tests should be available in highly endemic areas to ensure a safe blood supply.

Proceedings of the AABB blood center executive summit.

AABB hosted the Blood Center Executive Summit on 20 October 2019 during the AABB Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. The session was sponsored by the Commonwealth Transfusion Foundation, a nonprofit, private foundation whose mission is to inspire and champion research and education that optimizes clinical outcomes in transfusion medicine and ensures a safe and sustainable blood supply for the United States. The Summit focused on the intersection of blood centers and plasma centers. Presenters and attendees explored existing and needed data, regulatory requirements, risks and benefits of different donor models, and future direction of the plasma community and blood centers. The Summit also identified priority issues that warrant further investigation and provide opportunities to drive progress. Introductory remarks provided context for the Summit presentations. Debra BenAvram, FASAE, CAE, Chief Executive Officer, AABB (Bethesda, Maryland), noted that during the past year, she and other AABB staff have had many discussions with blood center executives on key issues and challenges. In these talks, many executives requested that AABB provide programming specifically for this member segment. The Summit is a direct result of those requests, and the AABB supports a fruitful discussion as well as important and actionable next steps. Kevin Belanger, DHS, MS, MT(ASCP)SBB, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Shepeard Community Blood Center (Evans, Georgia), observed that he and his colleagues have seen a decrease in the donor base and, at the same time, an increase in plasma centers. He also noted that the resulting discussions about competition and donor compensation have been muted. The Summit provides a forum for a broad, open discussion that can be the start of something important. As chair of the Summit planning committee, he thanked both panelists and audience members for participating. Bob Carden, Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Transfusion Foundation (Richmond, Virginia), who moderated the Summit, joined BenAvram and Belanger in welcoming participants to the day's presentations. He emphasized the need for data and noted that one outcome of the day would be a list of potential research projects that could be pursued and considered for funding.

Barriers to blood donation on social media: An analysis of Facebook and Twitter posts.

BackgroundTo better understand donor behavior and ensure a safe and sufficient blood supply, various observational studies have examined barriers to blood donation. This study used Facebook and Twitter data to enhance existing research on donation barriers and associated emotions communicated on social media by both donors and non‐donors.Study design and methodsWe conducted a semantic network analysis (SNA) with 168 232 public Dutch language social media messages from Facebook and Twitter during 2012‐2018. SNA uses concepts as nodes in a network and the relationship (ie, co‐occurrence) as links between them. We identified the relationship between donation barriers, non‐donation (voluntary and involuntary), and dissatisfaction (anger and disappointment) within social media messages. This computational method was combined with an analysis examining significant relationships in‐depth.ResultsTwelve donation barriers were identified: lifestyle, donation location, medical reasons, no invitation, opening times, physical reactions, pregnancy, remuneration, sexual risk behavior, time constraints, travels, and waiting times. More messages related to involuntary non‐donation compared to voluntary non‐donation. Involuntary non‐donation was associated most strongly with medical reasons and sexual risk behavior, while voluntary non‐donation was associated most strongly with resentment regarding remuneration of the blood bankʼs top management. Anger associated most strongly with sexual risk behavior and disappointment most strongly with medical reasons.ConclusionDiscussions around blood donation are increasingly taking place online. Donation barriers found in this study differ from those in survey research. Insights into how donation barriers are communicated in an ever‐growing online environment can be utilized to enhance recruitment and retention strategies.