Blood donor well-being: a primary responsibility of blood collection agencies

Current FDA regulations and AABB standards do not adequately protect the well-being of blood donors. Several practices have adverse consequences for donors, including: elevated incidence of donation related reactions and injuries, iron deficiency anemia in premenopausal women, and inadequate counseling of donors to obtain medical follow-up for health risks identified during pre-donation health screening. These practices can be improved without impacting negatively on the national blood supply. In addition to revising current blood collection operations, blood centers should explore the feasibility of establishing expanded donor health screening programs and determining their effectiveness in improving donor health, donor recruitment, and donor retention.