Analysis of reasons of blood donor deferral at a tertiary care institute in India and its reflections on community health status

INTRODUCTION: Safe blood donors form the backbone of safe blood transfusion services.([1]) Donor eligibility policies are a critical layer of blood safety designed to ensure selection of healthy donors and to protect recipients from any harm. This study was planned to analyze the pattern of whole blood donor deferrals and its characteristics and reasons at a tertiary care institute in northern India, as the pattern varies according to epidemiology of diseases in different demographic areas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It was a cross-sectional study of 2 years’ duration from December 2015 to November 2017. The data of the potential donors who were deferred were recorded on a separate pro forma which included their demographic details, type of donation - voluntary donor and replacement donor; first time and repeat donor; type of deferrals (permanent and temporary); and the reasons of deferrals. RESULTS: A total of 3133 donors (voluntary - 1446 and replacement - 1687) donated and 597 donors were deferred (deferral rate - 16%) during this period. Majority of the deferrals, i.e., 525 (88%) were temporary, while 72 (12%) were permanent. The most common reason of temporary deferral was anemia. The most common reason of permanent deferrals was a medical history of jaundice. CONCLUSIONS: Our study results indicate that the blood donor deferral can have subtle variations based on regional aspects that should be considered when national policies are developed as pattern of deferral varies according to the epidemiology of diseases in different demographic areas.