Donor Health Questionnaire and Physical Examination as a Tool for Re-Examination of Causes for Donor Deferral in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Objective: To reassess the reasons for blood donor deferrals as per donor history questionnaire and physical examination
findings.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: Blood Bank, Dr. Ziauddin Hospital, Karachi Pakistan, from Jan 2017 to Dec 2020.

Methodology: After approval from the Ethical Review Committee, all donors reporting at the blood bank were included. All
donors were interrogated via a detailed donor health questionnaire. Data for donor history and physical examination findings were retrieved from the Blood Bank Information Software System (BBIS).

Results: During the study period, 33,095 donors reported at the.
Blood Bank. Of the total donors, 25,531(77.1%) were accepted and donated blood, while 7564(22.9%) were deferred for
different reasons. The majority of donations were from males (32773,99.0%), and female donations accounted for 1%, while
females accounted for more deferrals as compared to males. Most deferrals were due to low Hemoglobin (2722,36%), followed by injection/needle stick injuries (1994,26.4%).
Less common causes observed were donors not feeling fit for donations, medications, etc.

Conclusion: In our study, the deferral rate was 22.9%, with low haemoglobin being the most common cause, followed by
injections/needle stick injuries.