Redonation Attempts Among Potential Donors With Pre-donation Deferrals in a Military Blood Donation Center

Area of Science:

• Hematology
• Infectious Diseases
• Public Health

Background:

• Prospective blood donors reporting behaviors or conditions increasing transfusion-transmitted infection (TTI) risk face temporary deferral.
• Understanding the impact of TTI risk deferrals on future donation attempts is crucial for policy evaluation, especially within the military population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate how deferrals for TTI risk influence subsequent blood donation attempts.
• To inform potential changes in deferral policies and their effect on the military blood donor pool.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of blood donors with pre-donation deferrals from October 2019 to December 2022.
• Comparison of redonation attempt rates between donors deferred for TTI risk and those deferred for low hemoglobin (anemia), matched for sex, age, and military training status.

Main Results:

• 12.8% of 49,613 donors had pre-donation deferrals; anemia was most common (54.2%), followed by TTI risk (10.7%).
• Donors deferred for TTI risk showed significantly lower redonation attempt rates than those deferred for anemia (P < .001).
• Specific TTI risk deferrals (e.g., men who have sex with men, travel to malaria-endemic areas) were independently linked to decreased redonation and longer reattempt times.

Conclusions:

• Pre-donation deferrals for TTI risk are associated with reduced redonation rates and increased time to reattempt.
• Findings suggest that TTI risk deferral policies may impact donor return rates more significantly than anemia deferrals.