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

Abstract

Background and Objectives Blood donor deferral is an essential tool for blood safety. The ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic has adversely affected blood transfusion services all over the world. But its impact on donor deferral rate and the pattern is unclear in light of the new donor deferral policy due to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Materials and Methods This retrospective study was divided into pre‐COVID and COVID (15 March 2019–14 March 2021). All the deferred donors were divided into six different categories: (1) medical causes, (2) surgical causes, (3) drugs and vaccination, (4) risk of transfusion‐transmitted diseases, (5) miscellaneous causes and (6) flu‐like symptoms. In addition, COVID‐related deferrals were also incorporated. All these above categories along with the donor demography were analysed by SPSS software version 25. Results The donor deferral rate was 17.03% and 12.74% during the pre‐COVID and COVID periods, respectively. During the pre‐COVID period, Category 3 deferrals and during COVID period, Category 6 deferrals were significantly higher. A reversal in pattern with increased blood pressure (40.2% vs. 24.04%) over‐riding low haemoglobin (34.77% vs. 55.5%) was noted in the Category 1 deferral during the COVID period. Category 1 deferral was more in middle‐aged adults as compared to young and old adults (p < 0.05). Among middle‐aged adults, deferral due to flu‐like symptoms was also significantly more during the COVID period (p < 0.05). Conclusion COVID‐19 significantly affected the donor pool and changed the pattern of donor deferral. Understanding donor deferral patterns may help in identifying targeted donor populations and planning donor recruitment strategies in future pandemic crises.

Determining the Practices and Opinions of University Students on Blood Donation in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Descriptive Study

“…18 In one study, it was found that older adults delayed blood donation mostly because of medical problems. 14 In the present study, the blood donation status of male students was found to be significantly higher (Table 5).…”

“…6,7,10 In a retrospective study, it was determined that while blood donations were delayed due to drugs and vaccination before the pandemic, they were delayed mostly due to the flu and similar symptoms during the pandemic period. 14 The periods of lockdowns due to the pandemic, the time required for blood donation, and the lack of trust have led to a decrease in blood donation. 15 In the study, it was determined that the rate of students donating blood decreased significantly before the pandemic.…”

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Seroprevalence of HIV, HBV, HCV and HTLV I-II in a Blood Bank in Medellín, Colombia, 2019–2022

“…Particularly for blood banks, this pandemic generated shortages of blood components, forcing staff to change their donation promotion actions and the dynamics of accepting blood donors to protect patients from COVID-19. As it was a new disease, its infectious capacity by transfusion was unknown, so other reasons for donors’ rejection such as respiratory diseases, COVID-19 vaccine or contact with positive patients were included in the selection protocol [ 12 , 13 ]. However, in Colombia the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the seroprevalence of these infections, and their interaction with other risk factors has not been evaluated.…”

Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic and How Blood Operators Can Prepare for the Next Pandemic

“…Donor deferral policies based on exposure risk, COVID-19 disease and travel were also introduced by blood operators [ 93 ]. Decreases in blood donations prompted blood operators to consider strategies and approaches to improve donor recruitment [ 45 , 94 , 95 ]. The introduction of COVID-19 vaccines required blood operators to review the characteristics of each vaccine and determine if donors should be deferred after vaccine as well as the duration of any deferral periods [ 96 ].…”