Whole blood donors' post‐donation symptoms diminish quickly but are discouraging: Results from 6‐day symptom diaries

Abstract

Background: Whole blood donors may experience post-donation symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, or headache after blood donation, which could influence donor retention. We aimed to examine post-donation symptoms during 1 week after whole blood donation, investigate donor characteristics associated with symptoms, and evaluate associations between symptoms and donor return. Methods: During 1 week, whole blood donors who donated successfully at one of the collection centers in The Netherlands were invited to participate. Three thousand seventy six donors filled in a diary, assessing post-donation symptoms during days 1 to 6 after donation. We used linear mixed models analyses to determine the change in post-donation symptoms after donation for male and female donors separately. Furthermore, we investigated associations between post-donation symptoms and donors' physical characteristics using multivariable regression and determined associations between symptoms and donor return. Results: Donors reported fatigue as the most common symptom, with approximately 3% of donors experiencing severe problems at the first day after donation. Multiple symptoms improved significantly up to day 3 after whole blood donation. Age, BMI, blood pressure (male donors), and blood volume (female donors) were significantly associated with post-donation symptoms. Donors with less fatigue after whole blood donation were more likely to return for their next donation within 31 days after receiving an invitation. Conclusion: Post-symptoms improve up to 3 days after whole blood donation. Our results may help blood collection centers to identify donors more prone to post-donation symptoms and provide personalized information about the presence and course of post-donation symptoms, possibly increasing donor return rates.

Warming up cool cooperators

“…Our observation that warm glow is stable is consistent with recent reports that warm glow, following blood donation, remains stable over several days 42,68 . However, further studies are needed to measure warm glow over time, both in the lab and in the field, to assess patterns of stability and decay for different types of helping and what predicts any variation in these patterns.…”

An intervention study for the prevention of vasovagal reactions and evaluating donors' experience: Analysis of donors' return for subsequent donation

“…Our study employed an online questionnaire to elicit donors' symptoms, and this showed that as reported before, mild symptoms, not noticed or reported by blood bank staff, can have a significant effect on donors' return [3,11,12].…”

Analysis of influencing factors of serum total protein and serum calcium content in plasma donors

“…Conversely, some other studies have illustrated no differences in serum calcium levels and age ( Jafari-Giv et al, 2019 ; Endres et al, 1987 ; Jorde, Bonaa & Sundsfjord, 1999 ). In addition, Sweegers et al (2021) also found age was significantly associated with multiple post-donation symptoms (such as fatigue, dizziness, headache and higher energy level) in whole blood donors. Conflicting results also have been reported with respect to the effect of gender on serum calcium levels.…”