Donation return time at fixed and mobile donation sites

Blood donor return behavior in South Africa and the United States before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

Studies preceding the COVID-19 pandemic found that slower time-to-return was associated with first-time, deferred, and mobile drive blood donors. How donor return dynamics changed during the COVID-19 pandemic is not well understood.

METHODS

We analyzed visits by whole blood donors from 2017 to 2022 in South Africa (SA) and the United States (US) stratified by mobile and fixed environment, first-time and repeat donor status, and pre-COVID19 (before March 2020) and intra-COVID19. We used Kaplan-Meier curves to characterize time-to-return, cumulative incidence functions to analyze switching between donation environments, and Cox proportional hazards models to analyze factors influencing time-to-return.

RESULTS

Overall time-to-return was shorter in SA. Pre-COVID19, the proportion of donors returning within a year of becoming eligible was lower for deferred donors in both countries regardless of donation environment and deferral type. Intra-COVID19, the gap between deferred and non-deferred donors widened in the US but narrowed in SA, where efforts to schedule return visits from deferred donors were intensified, particularly for non-hemoglobin-related deferrals. Intra-COVID19, the proportion of donors returning within a year in SA was higher for deferred first-time donors (>81%) than for successful first-time donors (80% at fixed sites; 69% at mobile drives).

CONCLUSIONS

The pandemic complicated efforts to recruit new donors and schedule returning visits after completed donations. Concerted efforts to improve time-to-return for deferred donors helped mitigate donation loss in SA during the public health emergency.

Beyond COVID-19 and lessons learned in the United States

The COVID-19 pandemic severely tested the resilience of the US blood supply with wild fluctuations in blood donation and utilisation rates as community donation opportunities ebbed and hospitals post-poned elective surgery. Key stakeholders in transfusion services, blood centres, supply chains and manufacturers reviewed their experiences during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic as well as available literature to describe successes, opportunities for improvement and lessons learned. The blood community found itself in uncharted territory responding to restriction of its access to donors (approximately 20% decrease) and some supplies; environmental adjustments to address staff and donor concerns about coronavirus transmission; and the development of a new product (COVID-19 convalescent plasma [CCP]). In assuring that the needs of the patients were paramount, the donation process was safe, that clinicians had access to CCP, and vendor relationships aligned, the blood banking community relearned its primary focus: improving patient outcomes.

When a refusal turns into donation: the moderating effect of the initial position toward blood donation in the door-in-the-face effectiveness

This research aimed to test the moderating effect of people's initial position to blood donation on the actual acceptance to donate blood in a door-in-the-face situation. This position (attitude, self-importance, normative beliefs) was measured one month prior to the request (Study 1, N = 99) or immediately before (Study 2, N = 80). The results revealed that the door-in-the-face effect is moderated by the importance of blood donation to the self, all the more so when the position is made salient. This highlights the specific character of blood donation in France and the centrality of the importance of donating for the self at the heart of the DITF technique. These results offer new insights into the conditions that must be met to achieve acceptance to donate blood after an initial refusal.

How to reverse first time donors to become regular donors? A questionnaire survey in Estonia

BACKGROUND

Donating blood in Estonia is non-remunerated and voluntary. Estonian Blood Service system has four independent regional blood centres that are responsible for blood collection, processing, screening and distribution of blood components to hospitals for clinical use.

STUDY DESIGN

This research was carried out as a questionnaire survey. A questionnaire was developed to study lapsing first time donors' (FTD) blood donation experience, intention and willingness to donate again.

METHODS

A thousand five hundred and forty-six questionnaires were posted to donors who had one successful donation in 2010 and who had not returned to second donation till the year 2012. For data analysis routine statistical methods were used. To evaluate the most appropriate number of classes, based on previous experience and future expectations, latent class analysis was used.

RESULTS

There were 453 respondents (29.3%). For the majority of aspects of blood donation experience the emotions were positive. Results of the study suggested that blood collection agencies should intervene to bolster donors' attitudes, perceived control, and identity as a donor during this crucial post-first donation period.

CONCLUSION

First blood donation seems to have been a positive experience. Reasons leading to stopping blood donation should be studied further. Establishing a donor registry for Estonia would be essential to keep track of donors.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute retrovirus epidemiology donor studies (Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study and Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study-II): twenty years of research to advance blood product safety and availability

The Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study (REDS), conducted from 1989 to 2001, and the REDS-II, conducted from 2004 to 2012, were National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-funded, multicenter programs focused on improving blood safety and availability in the United States. The REDS-II also included international study sites in Brazil and China. The 3 major research domains of REDS/REDS-II have been infectious disease risk evaluation, blood donation availability, and blood donor characterization. Both programs have made significant contributions to transfusion medicine research methodology by the use of mathematical modeling, large-scale donor surveys, innovative methods of repository sample storage, and establishing an infrastructure that responded to potential emerging blood safety threats such as xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus. Blood safety studies have included protocols evaluating epidemiologic and/or laboratory aspects of human immunodeficiency virus, human T-lymphotropic virus 1/2, hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus, West Nile virus, cytomegalovirus, human herpesvirus 8, parvovirus B19, malaria, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, influenza, and Trypanosoma cruzi infections. Other analyses have characterized blood donor demographics, motivations to donate, factors influencing donor return, behavioral risk factors, donors' perception of the blood donation screening process, and aspects of donor deferral. In REDS-II, 2 large-scale blood donor protocols examined iron deficiency in donors and the prevalence of leukocyte antibodies. This review describes the major study results from over 150 peer-reviewed articles published by these 2 REDS programs. In 2011, a new 7-year program, the Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study-III, was launched. The Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study-III expands beyond donor-based research to include studies of blood transfusion recipients in the hospital setting and adds a third country, South Africa, to the international program.