Causes of discontinuity of blood donation among donors in Shiraz, Iran: cross-sectional study

Abstract

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: The adequacy of blood depends on blood donation rates and numbers of blood donors. To prepare adequate blood supplies, it is essential to investigate the barriers and factors that stop individuals from donating. This study aimed to identify the causes of lapsed donation at our center. DESIGN AND SETTING:Cross-sectional study of volunteer blood donors in Shiraz, Iran. The participants were recruited by letter and telephone, and were interviewed using a specially designed questionnaire that contained items on demographic characteristics, donor motivations and reasons for not returning to donate. We used the chi-square test to identify associations between lapsed donor characteristics and reasons for declining to donate. METHODS: RESULTS:The greatest motivation for donation was altruism. The most frequent reasons for lapsed donation were lack of time because of work and self-exclusion for medical reasons. Among first-time donors, the most frequent reasons were unsuitability for donation and lack of time. CONCLUSIONS:The reasons for not returning to donate are varied and may correlate with demographic characteristics. In this study, the main reason for not returning was lack of time. Changing donation hours so that donors can donate after work, providing mobile teams at workplaces, and shortening the duration of the donation process may help increase repeat donation rates. RESUMENCONTEXTO Y OBJETIVO: La idoneidad de la sangre y los productos sanguíneos depende de las tasas de donación y el número de donantes. Para preparar un suministro suficiente es esencial conocer las barreras y los factores que llevan a los individuos a dejar de donar. Hemos diseñado un estudio tipo encuesta para identificar las causes de la dejación de donar en nuestro centro. DISEÑO Y EMPLAZAMIENTO: Estudio transversal de los donantes de sangre voluntarios en Shiraz (Irán).MÉTODOS: Hemos seleccionado 850 donantes históricos que donaron entre el 1 de enero del 2005 y el 1 de junio del 2005, pero que no habían vuelto a donar para junio del 2008. Los participantes fueron reclutados por escrito (carta) y por teléfono, y fueron entrevistados con un cuestionario diseñado específicamente para este estudio y que contenía ítems sobre las características demográficas, las motivaciones del donante y las razones por las que no había vuelto a donar. Usamos la prueba de la ji-cuadrado para identificar las asociaciones entre la dejación de donar y las razones por dejar de donar.RESULTADOS: La motivación más frecuente para donar fue el altruismo. Las razónes más frecuentes para dejar de donar fue la falta de tiempo por motivos laborales, y la auto-exclusión por razones médicas. En los donantes primerizos, las razones más frecuentes fueron la no-idoneidad para donar y la falta de tiempo por motivos laborales. CONCLUSIONS:Las razones que llevan a la dejación de donar son diversas y pueden estar relacionadas con las características demográficas. In este estudio la razón principal fue la falta de tiempo por motivos laborales. Un cam...

Relationship between blood donors' iron status and their age, body mass index and donation frequency

“…11 Among firsttime donors, one of the most important reasons for not returning to donate is lack of qualification for donation. 12 An appraisal of blood donation in Iran showed that just 34.8% of Iranian blood donors who had been rejected in 1999 gave blood over the subsequent three years. 13 In the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO), Hb and/or hematocrit (Hct) assessments are used as a screening criterion for eligibility to donate blood.…”

Determinants of Blood Donation Status in Malaysia: Profiling the Non-Donors, Occasional Donors and Regular Donors

“…This is because women are disallowed from donating during pregnancy or breastfeeding periods, and thus quit donating permanently instead of resuming to donate later. Another possible reason accounting for lower donation rates among women include health concerns, such as iron-deficiency anaemia or low body weight (Boulware et al, 2002;Kasraian, 2010). It is therefore posited that males would exhibit higher likelihoods of being occasional or regular donors than females in the current study.…”

“…In other words, being married serves as a strong positive predictor of blood donation only among men, while the association is not as evident for women. Meanwhile, Kasraian (2010) and Shenga et al (2010) find no significant relationship between blood donation knowledge and marital status. Thus, the role of marital status on blood donation status will be further examined in the current study.…”

“…Hollingsworth and Wildman (2004) and Burgdorf et al (2017) find that time constraints due to a busy working schedule and a changing structure of society may constrain blood donation likelihoods. Meanwhile, Kasraian (2010) indicates that the most frequent reason for lapsed donation is a lack of time due to work. As noted by Guest, Munro, and Cookson (1998), the annual costs of blood transfusions can be significant as aside from direct costs (e.g.…”

“…For instance, Marantidou et al (2007) note that young people are less likely to donate in Greece, while Kasraian (2010), Volken et al (2013), and Ou et al (2015) report higher response rates among older donors in Iran, Germany, and Hong Kong, respectively. Meanwhile, Boulware et al (2002), Wiwanitkit (2002), and Shenga et al (2010) find no discerning association between age and knowledge or actual blood donation in U.S., Thailand, and India, respectively.…”