Analysis of predonation loss of blood donors due to deferrals - in a tertiary care hospital set up.

Context: Blood is a living tissue that is transfused into another human body and hence blood safety is a major issue in transfusion medicine. It is well-known that a large number of apparently healthy donors are deferred from successful blood donation because of varied reasons. They are the potential motivated donors the society is losing. Hence, it is very important to analyze the reasons for deferral and retain the motivated donors. Aims: The objective of this study was to determine the various causes and its proportion for blood predonation deferrals. Settings and Design: Department of transfusion medicine, Tertiary Care Hospital, Mysore, Karnataka, India. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was carried out by retrieving the data of deferred blood donors over a period of 1-year from January 2014 to December 2014. Results: Among 8894 donors screened, 8.62% (n = 767) were deferred from blood donation. The main reason for deferral was low hemoglobin (Hb) (25.3%), followed by alcohol consumption (21%), high blood pressure (14%), under age and underweight (12.4%), medication (6%), tattooing (4.3%), dental extraction (3.1%), sleep deficit (3%), and miscellaneous causes (5.7%). Interesting observation in our study was that 47 males were deferred due to high Hb levels (6%) ranging from 18.8 to 23 g%. Conclusion: Increased public education on common causes of donor deferral may lower deferral rates by allowing prospective donors to "prescreen" themselves. Thus, the temporary deferrals can be prevented by proper health care education, creating awareness, and guiding to improve their health status for future donation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]