Frequency and Causes of Deferral among Blood Donors Presenting to Combined Military Hospital Multan

Abstract

Background & AimIt is of great importance to carefully choose appropriate donors according to strict eligibility criteria, so as to guarantee an adequate and safe blood supply. The aim of this study was to determine the rate of deferral in blood donors and evaluate the different causes of deferral in Multan. Materials & MethodsThis prospective study was carried out at the Blood Bank of Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Multan. All donors who came for the donation of blood from 1st February to 30th September 2019 were evaluated after taking their consent. The data was analyzed to determine the frequency and causes of deferral using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. ResultsAmong 3348 individuals presenting for blood donation, 433 (12.9%) were deferred (427 males and only six females). The mean age of deferred individuals was 28.96 + 6.42 years. The youngest individual was 18 years, while the eldest one was 51 years of age. Almost 65% of the individuals were less than 30 years of age. The most frequent cause of deferral was low hemoglobin. Anemia was the leading cause of deferral in more than half of the individuals (n = 221). Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was the second most frequent cause of deferral, seen in 83 (19.2%), followed by hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (n = 49, 11.3%), syphilis (n = 36, 8.3%), thrombocytopenia (n = 18, 4.2%), and active infection (n = 14, 3.2%). Other rarer causes included early donation, thrombocytosis, polycythemia, pancytopenia, malaria, allergies, insulin, and tuberculosis.

Impact of COVID‐19 on blood donor deferral patterns during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A retrospective analysis

“…Deferral due to low haemoglobin was more in females (52.4%) and males (56.01%) during the pre-COVID and COVID periods, respectively. It is the major cause for deferral in different parts of India and many countries due to the high prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia in repeat donors and childbearing females [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. Low haemoglobin in males is generally associated with increased age, low body weight and regular blood donation [26].…”

“…Many nations imposed lockdown to decrease infection rate, further adding to decreased supply of blood products [2,3]. India also implemented a nationwide lockdown at different phases from 25 March 2020 despite reporting its first case on 27 January 2020, at Thrissur, Kerala. There has been no evidence suggesting the transmission of these viruses through blood products [1,4,5].…”

Efficacy of Sofosbuvir, Daclatasvir and Ribavirin combination therapy in treatment naïve hepatitis C patients at tertiary care hospital of South Punjab

“…Treatment of hepatitis C virus is essential in halting the disease progression and preventing cirrhosis and its complications such as ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis [22], encephalopathy, variceal bleeding [23,24], renal failure and increased mortality. Due to the high prevalence rates of hepatitis C in this area [10,25], eradication of this infection is of utmost importance.…”

Whole blood donor behavior and availability after deferral: Consequences of a new ferritin monitoring policy

“…The duration of a temporary deferral can range from a single day up to 3 years. The most common reason for temporary deferral is low hemoglobin 2–4 . In The Netherlands, approximately 10% of all donation attempts are deferred on‐site (ie, at the donation center), 5 40% of whom are deferred for low hemoglobin 6 .…”

“…The most common reason for temporary deferral is low hemoglobin. [2][3][4] In The Netherlands, approximately 10% of all donation attempts are deferred on-site (ie, at the donation center), 5 40% of whom are deferred for low hemoglobin. 6 Of these donors deferred on-site for hemoglobin, the large majority (82%) is female.…”