Blood Donor Deferral Patterns and Frequency at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Lahore

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the frequency and the common causes of donor deferral in blood bank of Shalamar hospital Lahore.

Methodology: Retrospective study was conducted at blood bank of Shalamar Hospital Lahore from Jan 2020 to December 2021. The data of blood donors who were registered in the blood bank during the mentioned period were reviewed. As per mandatory WHO guidelines eligible donors were screened for Hemoglobin and Transfusion Transmitted Infection (HBsAg, HCV antibody, HIV 1/2 antibody, Syphilis and Malaria). The screening data of donor was analyzed in order to determine the frequency and most common causes of deferral using SPSS version 19.

Results: Among 6616 blood donors who registered in blood bank during mentioned period, donor deferral rate was 4.2%. The mean age of deferred individuals was 31.39 ±8.0 years.  The most frequent cause of temporary deferral was Low Hb (32.8 %) followed by Syphilis detected in 20.6% of donors .Hepatitis C Virus infection ( 25.5%) was leading cause of deferral among permanently deferred donors followed by  Hepatitis B virus (18.8%) and HIV (2.3%). No positive case of malaria was detected in this study.

Conclusion: Deferral for blood donations accounts for 4.1%. Low Hb and HCV infection were the two most common causes of deferral observed in present study. The substantial rate of deferral due to anemia and HCV infection poses a significant public health concern, necessitating regulatory bodies to implement measures at national level aimed at enhancing community health and minimizing infection rates by public awareness and strict regulatory policy.