EVALUATION OF DEFERRAL CAUSES IN BLOOD DONORS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL, TIRUCHIRAPPALLI, TAMILNADU

BACKGROUND Transfusion of blood and blood derived products saves millions of life all over the world. Hence, proper screening becomes mandatory to ensure quality of donors and to avoid the risk of transfusion associated diseases to the recipients. It is very important to analyse the causes of deferral among the donors and to decrease the temporary deferral rates. By this we can increase the total number of voluntary donors with good quality of blood products and safety to the recipients. The objective of this study is to assess the donor deferral rates, various causes of deferrals and to take proper measures to decrease temporary deferral rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective study of pre-donation deferral of blood donors at a blood bank in a tertiary care hospital is conducted. The donors include voluntary donors from the outdoor camps conducted by the blood bank during the period of January 2014 to December 2016. The prospective blood donors were screened according to the criteria laid down by the Drugs and Cosmetic Act of India.[1] Deferral records over the period of 2 years were analysed to quantify the deferral rate and reasons. The deferral donors were also analysed according to gender and age. RESULTS A total of 20,195 voluntary donors were registered in the mentioned study period of two years. Of this, males (92.6%) constituted the predominant donor population. The females constituted only minor proportion of 7.4%. The male-female donor ratio was (12.4: 1). The deferral donors were classified into temporary constituting (82.2%) and permanent (17.71%). The leading cause of permanent deferral was hypertension (13.6%), whereas the leading cause of temporary deferral was anaemia (33.07%). The major cause of deferral among males was hypertension, whereas anaemia was the major cause of deferral among females. CONCLUSION Donor deferral rate of 6.5% was recorded in this study. The deferral rate coincides with other studies. Voluntary donors constituted the bulk of donor population. The major causes of deferral in our study were anaemia and hypertension.