A cross sectional study of the reasons for deferral of voluntary blood donors at a district blood bank attached to a medical college hospital in southern Karnataka

Introduction: The study objectives were to determine the demographic profile of voluntary donors who were deferred from donating blood and the different reasons for deferral of those donors who intended to donate blood to the hospital blood bank. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional, record based study was done from March 2014 to February 2015 at the blood bank. The data was entered into Microsoft® ExcelTM Spreadsheet and was analysed using the same. Descriptive statistics were obtained. Result: A total of 7,319 potential donors were screened by the blood bank of whom, 7000 (95.64%) were selected for donating blood and 319 (4.36%) were found ineligible for blood donation for various reasons. Of all the potential blood donors, male donors were 6991, of whom 6783 (97.02%) were selected and 208 (2.98%) were deferred from donating blood. While out of 328 registered female donors, 217 (66.15%) were selected and 111(33.84%) were deferred. Permanent deferral rates were comparatively higher for males than females and temporary deferrals, were higher among female donors. A major proportion of the deferred donors were between the age group of 18-30 years. Anemia, medication intake, being underweight and underage were predominant reasons for deferral among temporary deferrals. Conclusion: A significant number of potential blood donors are deferred for various preventable and treatable reasons. The deferred donors need to be actively pursued, so that they can contribute by donating blood and saving lives as they may get de-motivated, when they are deferred from donating blood.