Adverse Events and Risk Factors in Nepalese Blood Donors

The occurrence and fear of adverse events during blood donation is one major deterrent for new and old donors. Mostly, adverse events are regarded as symptoms in donors and clinical monitoring of donors is not usually practiced.

The general characteristics, past donation experiences, and measurements of heart rate and blood pressures were recorded in voluntary blood donors in the settings of blood donation camps organized in communities and hospital blood banks. Adverse events were recorded as subjective experiences and clinically detected presyncope or syncope.

A total of 1150 donors participated in the study (79.2% males, 73% between 21 to 40 years, 62.4% overweight or obese); 9% experienced adverse effects and 4.8% had clinical presyncope and/or syncope. Among 693 repeat donors, 2.9% had experienced adverse events in past donation. Adverse events symptoms were more common in young, females, donors with previous adverse experience, long hours without meal, and in blood camps (p values <0.05). Less sleep hours, number of past donations, and amount of blood removed did not cause significant differences in the rate of adverse events. Subjective and clinical adverse effects were not significantly correlated.

Rate of adverse reactions is high in Nepalese blood donors. Young, female, and fasting donors should be closely monitored, especially in blood camps outside designated centers.