Donation reactions among autologous donors

Studies of risk factors associated with reactions among autologous blood donors have been limited. Therefore, 2091 autologous and 4737 homologous donations were examined. Donors at greatest risk for reaction were autologous donors who had reactions at first donation; among 45 who made repeat donations for the same surgery, 17 (38%) had repeat reactions. The group least likely to experience reactions were the autologous donors greater than or equal to 66 years old; they experienced a 1.9 greater than or equal to percent (6/310) incidence of reactions. More reactions were seen in both autologous and homologous donors in the categories of first-time donor, female gender, decreasing age, and lower weight. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that all of these variables were independent predictors of donor reaction, with first-time donation (odds ratio, 2.4) and female gender (odds ratio, 1.9) being the strongest predictors of reaction. Donor room personnel should be alerted that autologous donors who react at first donation are very likely to react at subsequent donations. Contrary to common concern, elderly autologous donors are least likely to have reactions.