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An analysis of blood donor deferrals among repeat donors
Author(s) -
Kheiri S.,
Alibeigi Z.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
transfusion medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.471
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1365-3148
pISSN - 0958-7578
DOI - 10.1111/tme.12432
Subject(s) - transfusion medicine , medicine , blood transfusion , research center , health science , library science , family medicine , medical education , surgery , pathology , computer science
Dear Sir, Providing safe blood and blood supply is essential to the healthcare system. Blood donor selection is designed to ensure the safety of both the donors and recipients (Cheraghali, 2012). Currently, all blood donations in Iran are provided by voluntary and non-remunerated donors, and the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO) is the sole official organisation responsible for transfusion safety for the entire country (Mahmoodian-Shooshtari & Pourfathollah, 2006). The main purpose of IBTO is to supply blood with minimum risk to the donors and recipients. The IBTO has provided a data management software system for all blood centres, which includes the donation history and results of screening tests for each donor. Based on the last estimation, about half of Iranian blood donors are repeat donors (Cheraghali, 2012). A repeat donor is examined and screened several times, so he or she will have a better blood safety record (Schreiber et al., 2005; Cheraghali, 2012). As a result, understanding the deferral rate and describing the factors causing blood deferral among repeated donors is very important. This will help IBTO plan educational programmes for groups with higher deferral rates and with improving donor selection criteria. The aim of this study was to analyse the deferral status in a sample of repeat donors in a blood donation centre in a city located in south-western Iran. The study was conducted in Shahrekord Blood Transfusion Center (one of the south-western transfusion centres in Iran) with the approval from the Research Center of IBTO. The IBTO has defined requirements for donation and deferral criteria, which all centres use through pre-evaluation and screening procedures. Each donor who presents for a donation is interviewed, physically examined by a trained physician and asked questions including risk factors and personal deferrable behaviours. During the examination, if a donor does not meet the national criteria of donor selection, he or she will be deferred. The deferral status of each donor is recorded as temporary or permanent, and no donation is allowed during the deferral period. At the end of the examination, the donor information, including acceptance or deferral status, category of deferral and reason for the deferral, are entered into the software (Cheraghali, 2012). This study was designed as a cross-sectional follow-up study with a maximum of 5 years. First, a list was extracted of donors who had successfully donated blood for the first time from March 21, 2008 till March 20, 2009 and had been recorded in