Subjective donor deferral as a tool for increased blood transfusion safety: A cross-sectional observational study

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims at evaluating whether subjective donor deferral (SDD) has the potential for increasing blood transfusion safety. Background: Appropriate donor selection via clinical and serologic screening is necessary to prevent transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs). One additional strategy adopted by some Brazilian blood transfusion centers (BTCs) is the rejection of a donation by the pre-donation interviewer based on subjective factors. Methods/Materials: We conducted a STROBE-guided cross-sectional study including 105 005 prospective donors who presented to our BTC between 1 January 2013, and 31 December 2015. Donors were evaluated for age, gender, education level, donation type and history, confidential unit exclusion, SDD, and results of serologic screening for TTIs. Results: Even after controlling for potential confounding variables, subjectively deferred donors were more likely to have at least one reactive serology in the standard screening (OR: 2.80; 95% CI: 2.13-3.69; P