Lipid and Haematologic Profiling of Regular Blood Donors Revealed Health Benefits

BACKGROUND: Blood banks have been suffering a shortage of blood worldwide due to limited donations. By and large, it is widely believed that blood donation has multiple health benefits. However, there are limited studies that support it. As a result, assessing the biochemical profiles of the regular blood donors is indispensable to evaluating an individual’s risk for chronic inflammation. OBJECTIVE: We strived to compare lipid and haematological profiles of the regular and first-time blood donors in the National Blood Bank Service of Ethiopia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comparative cross-sectional study, involving 104 blood samples (52 each of regular and first-time donors), was designed to analyze lipid and haematological profiles and anthropometric parameters were measured. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25, Chi-square (χ(2)) was used to compare the relationship between categorical variables and an independent Student’s t-test was used to compare the mean of the two groups. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Regular blood donors had lower mean TC (144.3 ± 28 mg/dL), TG (159.3 ± 88.2 mg/dL), LDL-c (75.9 ± 25.9 mg/dL) than the first-time blood donors with values of TC (158.1 ± 38.94 mg/dL), TG (163.9 ± 82.7 mg/dL), LDL-c (93.1 ± 31.5 mg/dL), respectively. The ratio of LDL-c/HDL-c and TC/HDL-c was found to be lower in regular blood donors when compared to the first-time donors (P < 0.05). Even though the level of HDL-c was higher (39.8 ± 8.8 mg/dL) in regular blood donors compared to first-time blood donors (36.8 ± 7.7 mg/dL), it was not statistically significant. The mean of some haematologic parameters like a platelet, RDW, lymphocyte, and MCH was significantly lower in regular blood donors than in first-time blood donors. BMI and WHR in regular donors were less than the first-time donors, albeit statistically insignificant. CONCLUSION: Interestingly, blood donation has a significant health benefit by lowering TC, TG and LDL-c, which have the potential risk of developing chronic inflammation.