Return rate in blood donors: A 7-year follow up

A rapid review of motives and barriers for living substance of human origin donation and an extended typology

Our objective is to review motives and barriers for non-reproductive, living substance of human origin (SoHO) donation, and to extend existing typologies beyond blood. The expansion of SoHO collection is currently unmatched by increased living donors. Thus, there is a critical need to understand how to effectively recruit and retain donors to ensure a sustainable supply of SoHO. We undertook a rapid review and narrative synthesis of published, peer-reviewed literature reporting on motives and/or barriers for living SoHO donation (whole-blood, blood products [2009-2023], bone marrow/stem cells, cord blood, organ, human breast milk, intestinal microbiota [2000-2023]). Results were interpreted through directed qualitative content analysis using an extended typology of motives/barriers largely drawn from blood donation research, and subsequently refined based on results to be inclusive of other SoHO. 234 articles with 237 studies met review criteria. Most were quantitative (74.3%), conducted in Western countries (63.8%), focused on blood donation (64.2%), reported motives and barriers (51.9%) and did not examine differences by donor characteristics or history (74%). We present a revised typology inclusive of motives/barriers for donation of substances beyond blood. This shows while broader motives and barriers are shared across substances donated, there are critical differences at the subcategory level that may account for heterogeneity in results of prior interventions. The nuances in how broad categories of motives and barriers manifest across different SoHO are critical for blood collection agencies to consider as they attempt to expand collection of products beyond whole-blood, plasma, and platelets. WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE TOPIC?: Blood collection agencies (BCAs) continue to expand SoHO product collection beyond whole-blood, plasma, and platelets. The demand for SoHO is currently unmatched by increased living donors. The need to understand how to recruit new and retain existing living donors to ensure a sustainable supply of SoHO remains critical. However, there is no available synthesis of the factors, such as motives/facilitators and barriers/deterrents, to inform our understanding. WHAT IS NEW?: Comprehensively reviewed evidence for motives and barriers of willing/actual donors and nondonors across all types of non-reproductive living SoHO donation. Explored variations in motives and barriers based on substance, donor history and demographic differences (gender, age, ethnicity or culture). Extended typology of motives and barriers inclusive of all non-reproductive living SoHO, beyond solely whole-blood and blood products. Identified that while there are commonalities in the overarching motive and barrier categories across substances (e.g., prosocial motivation, low self-efficacy), within these broader constructs there are differences at the subcategory level (e.g., low-self efficacy was about eligibility, lifestyle barriers, or lack/loss of financial or material resources depending on the substance donated) that are crucial for development of future interventions and for BCAs to consider as they expand SoHO product collection. Highlighted the continued focus on motives and barriers for whole-blood and blood product donation to the exclusion of other, particularly newer, SoHO; lack of qualitative work for newer SoHO; and lack of consideration of differences based on donor characteristics (especially ethnicity/culture) and donor history, which limits our understanding. WHAT ARE THE KEY QUESTIONS FOR FUTURE WORK ON THE TOPIC?: What are the motives and barriers (in both qualitative and quantitative studies) for donation of newer SoHO such as stem cells, cord blood, human milk, and intestinal microbiota? Are there differences in motives and barriers within and across SoHO that are informed by individual and contextual-level factors? How can we develop interventions that respond to the nuances of motives and barriers present across different forms of SoHO that are effective in encouraging new and maintaining continuing donors?

A virtual reality paradigm simulating blood donation serves as a platform to test interventions to promote donation

Effective interventions that support blood donor retention are needed. Yet, integrating an intervention into the time-pressed and operationally sensitive context of a blood donation center requires justification for disruptions to an optimized process. This research provides evidence that virtual reality (VR) paradigms can serve as a research environment in which interventions can be tested prior to being delivered in blood donation centers. Study 1 (N = 48) demonstrated that 360°-video VR blood donation environments elicit a similar profile of emotional experience to a live donor center. Presence and immersion were high, and cybersickness symptoms low. Study 2 (N = 134) was an experiment deploying the 360°-video VR environments to test the impact of an intervention on emotional experience and intentions to donate. Participants in the intervention condition who engaged in a suite of tasks drawn from the process model of emotion regulation (including attentional deployment, positive reappraisal, and response modulation) reported more positive emotion than participants in a control condition, which in turn increased intentions to donate blood. By showing the promise for benefitting donor experience via a relatively low-cost and low-resource methodology, this research supports the use of VR paradigms to trial interventions prior to deployment in operationally-context field settings.

Characteristics of Donors and Modelling of the Characteristics to Possible Forecast the Repeat Donors Profile at Thammasat University Hospital

Blood donations are essential to the blood supply available for patients in life-saving treatments. We aimed to identify characteristics affecting repeat donations, and to model a tool to forecast repeat donation among Thammasat University Hospital (TUH) donors. A retrospective study for 4 years of donations at TUH was conducted to identify characteristics affecting continuous donations and model a scoring tool, as well as pilot test it, prospectively. Data concerning age, sex, ABO grouping, Rh(D) typing, and collection site were included. The outcome was dichotomized as controls and cases based on first time and repeat donations. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to obtain the cut-off, while odds ratio was used to assign the score. During the study, 37,736 donations comprised 6,305 controls and 31,431 cases. Characteristics that positively predicted repeat donation included male, age ≥ 30 years, AB blood group and on-site donation, and they were chosen to model the score. The total score value of 3 was chosen as the rounded cut-off. A pilot study, the score was observed to have an accuracy of 67.5%. In conclusion, 4 significant characteristics appeared to positively influence repeat donation. The predictive scoring model is a simple reliable and valid tool exhibiting good accuracy.

Views and Attitudes of Blood Donors toward Blood Donation during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Thrace Region, Greece

The COVID-19 pandemic has been going on for the last two years and it has affected our society and, amongst other things, has had a negative impact on blood donation, which has led to a significant reduction in blood supplies worldwide. The imposed restrictions in terms of physical presence and transportation, and the fear of the unknown, have aggravated the situation. In Greece, after the first cases of COVID-19 were reported, the blood supplies at the blood transfusion units (BTUs) were dramatically reduced. Although the blood transfusions were lessened during the COVID-19 pandemic period, the blood stocks at all the BTUs of the country were also reduced.

The apheresis platelet donation was increased after a nationwide ban on family/replacement donation in China

BACKGROUND

A nationwide ban on family/replacement donation (FRD) went into effect on April 1, 2018 in China. To date, no reports relevant to the trend of plateletpheresis donations before and after a nationwide ban on FRD were found.

METHODS

We used two independent full samples, consisting of 135,851 and 82,129 plateletpheresis donors from Guangzhou and Chengdu between October 2012 and September 2019, respectively. A pseudo-panel data approach was applied by grouping three time-invariant covariates - gender, blood donation history, and birth year across 14 cross-sections (a 6-month interval each) to form a total of 24 cohort groups (14 × 24 = 336 cohorts, i.e., cells) with each having common covariates. The outcome was average apheresis platelet units per donor in each cell. We performed a two-piecewise linear mixed model with the cross-section (i.e., time) just right before the ban as a time breakpoint (i.e., 11th cross-section) to examine the trend of outcome with the adjustment of three time-invariant covariates. We removed the FRDs in each of the first 11 cross-sections to detect its possible influence on the trend.

RESULTS

The final model for the samples from Guangzhou presented a two-piecewise linear trend of the outcome over time with a horizontal line to the left of the breakpoint (β_timeBefore11 = 0.0111, p = 0.0976) and a significantly positive linear trend to the right (β_timeAfter11 = 0.0404, p < 0.0001). The male donors and the donors with plateletpheresis donation history had an increased baseline outcome and a significant outcome change over time after the ban. Such a two-piecewise linear trend pattern can be replicated using the samples from Chengdu with some minor variations. Removing the FRD before the ban can change the pattern.

CONCLUSION

The significant increase of the average apheresis platelet units per donor over time after the FRD ban may be related to the implement of the FRD ban and the improved donation behavior of male donors and/or donors with platelet donation history after the ban. Our findings may potentially motivate the policymakers in other countries where the FRD for plateletpheresis donation is still legitimate to phase out their FRD strategy and ultimately achieve 100% voluntary plateletpheresis donation.

Estimating the incidence of HIV infection in repeat blood donors with low average donation frequency

BACKGROUND

The standard approach to estimating HIV incidence in repeat blood donors includes only donors who made two or more donations in an estimation interval. In China and some other countries, large proportions of repeat donors donate only once in a 1- or 2-year interval. The standard approach may not represent risk among all repeat donors in these areas. Two approaches to including all repeat donors in the incidence estimate were evaluated in a simulation study.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Under one approach, a donor infected at the first donation contributes a partial case to incidence that equals the proportion of time since the preceding donation that is in the estimation interval. Under the other, that donor contributes a full case if at least half the time since the previous donation is in the estimation interval and nothing otherwise. Infections identified at the second or subsequent donations in the interval contribute full cases as usual. The simulations involved proportions with single donations of 11% to 65% combined with a variety of patterns of rising, falling, or constant incidence.

RESULTS

The partial-case approach was unbiased under more test conditions than the whole-case approach and exhibited smaller bias when both were biased. Under both approaches, bias >10% occurred only when rates of single donations >50% were combined with large changes in incidence over time.

CONCLUSION

The partial-case approach performed better than the whole-case approach. The conditions producing bias >10% are so extreme that they are unlikely to be encountered in the field.