REASONS FOR DEFERRAL IN DEFERRED VOLUNTARY BLOOD DONORS IN EASTERN CROATIA

Area of Science:

• Transfusion Medicine
• Hematology
• Public Health

Background:

• Donor selection is crucial for blood product safety and quality.
• Health conditions can lead to the rejection of voluntary blood donors (VBDs).
• Understanding donor demographics and deferral reasons is vital for blood supply management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze gender differences in VBD deferral rates.
• To identify primary reasons for temporary and permanent VBD deferral.
• To investigate the prevalence of low hemoglobin levels as a deferral cause, by gender.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of blood donation data from eastern Croatia (2014-2018).
• Inclusion of 144,041 donations from 80,418 VBDs.
• Categorization of deferrals by gender, reason (especially low hemoglobin), and deferral status (temporary/permanent).

Main Results:

• Female VBDs constituted 16.7% of donations but represented a significant portion of deferrals.
• Overall deferral rate was 11.46% among VBDs.
• Low hemoglobin was the most common deferral reason: 54% for females vs. 46% for males.

Conclusions:

• Low hemoglobin is the primary cause for VBD deferral, with a higher incidence in females.
• Gender and age significantly influence hemoglobin levels in both accepted and rejected donors.
• Female VBDs are a key demographic for strategies aimed at increasing the donor pool and blood supply.