Blood donation by the elderly. Clinical and policy considerations

At present, healthy potential blood donors older than the age of 66 years often leave the donor pool for reasons of age alone, despite the fact that this demographic group is growing, is a potentially willing source of blood products, and constitutes the cohort with highest per capita use of blood and its derivatives. There is no clinical or physiological rationale for this. We performed a controlled study to measure the feasibility and safety of blood donation by healthy elderly donors aged 66 years and older, compared with a younger cohort aged 55 to 65 years of age. A study group of prior donors aged 66 years and older and a control group of prior donors between the ages of 50 and 65 were sent letters inviting them to donate blood. The volume donated did not differ between the two groups. In the older group, there were eight immediate reactions, seven mild and one moderate. The control population experienced seven immediate reactions, six mild and one severe. We conclude that it is both clinically feasible and efficient to recruit healthy prior donors older than the age of 66 years for blood donation. As a group, this population is potentially able to donate large volumes of blood and do so without any difference in immediate or short-term reactions. Further study of hemodynamic variables as more objective markers of safety is needed.