Evaluation of causes of deferral of blood donors in blood bank - A study of 2 years at tertiary care hospital blood bank

Background: Millions of patients who are in need of blood transfusion do not have timely access to safe blood. Donor selection is important to ensure safe blood supply. Blood transfusion services (BTS) have the responsibility to collect blood only from donors who are at low risk for any infection that could be transmitted through transfusion and who are unlikely to jeopardize their own health by blood donation. A rigorous process to assess the suitability of prospective donors is therefore essential to protect the safety and sufficiency of the blood supply, and safeguard the health of recipients of transfusion and blood donors themselves, while ensuring that suitable donors are not deferred unnecessarily. Aim: To study the incidence and causes for deferral of both voluntary and replacement Donors in Blood Bank. Materials and methods: The study was conducted over a period of 2 years from 2015 January to 2017 January at Gandhi Hospital Blood Bank, under Gandhi Hospital; which is a tertiary care referral Hospital. Results: A total of 2510 donors of both voluntary and replacement category were deferred, among which males were 1790 were males and 720 were females. The commonest cause of deferral among males was alcohol intake within 24 hours, followed by underweight and hypertension. The commonest cause among female donors was anemia followed by menstrual history within one week. Conclusion: Analysis and evaluation of deferral in blood donors helps us to understand the causes of deferral and deferral rate. This helps us in providing safe blood to the recipients by promoting blood donation by healthy donors. There is a need to motivate more voluntary non remunerable donors to ensure safe blood to all by conducting educational and motivational programs.