Impact of disasters on blood donation rates and blood safety: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The effectiveness of telephone surveys on the return of first-time donors: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

The management of blood supply depends, among other factors, on the effective remobilization of first-time donors (FTDs). This study investigates the efficacy of telephone calls to increase second donation rates.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

A randomized controlled trial was conducted on 418 first-time blood donors. In the telephone group (TG, n = 206), men were contacted 9-10 and women 13-14 weeks after their first donation. They were asked about satisfaction and intention to return, and offered an appointment. The primary outcome was the return rate within 6 months after the first donation.

RESULTS

The mean age was 28.8 ± 10.0 years and 59.9% of FTDs were female. In the TG, 89.3% were reached. Approximately 50% of each group had donated a second time by 24.2 weeks for the control group (CG) and 14.8 weeks for the TG. The six-month return rate was 65.0% in the TG and 54.3% in the CG (95%-CI [0.9%; 20.6%]; p = .033). The restricted mean time to return within 6 months was 19.4 weeks in the CG compared to 17.2 weeks in the TG (95%-CI [0.7; 3.7]; p = .004). The intervention effect tended to be larger in men than in women.

DISCUSSION

Contacting FTDs by phone after their first donation increases the six-month return rate and reduces the interval to a second donation. Male donors appear to be more receptive to this intervention. Whether the effect of the intervention helps to establish a donor identity in the long term should be the subject of further studies.

Seroprevalence of human immunodeficiency virus in African blood donors: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

In developing countries, the safety of blood transfusions remains an important public health concern as it is associated with a higher risk of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs). In this study, we aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of HIV among blood donors in Africa and assess the temporal trends and regional differences within the continent through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

METHODS

Seven electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, Scopus, HINARI, Global Index Medicus and Clinical.

TRIAL

gov) were searched for relevant studies for our research. We included all primary studies that estimated the seroprevalence of HIV among blood donors in Africa with an age population from 16 to 65 years old, without language restrictions, from inception up to March 1st 2024. The pooled seroprevalence was estimated through the DerSimonian-Laird random effects model. The temporal trends and regional differences were assessed through subgroup and meta-regression analysis.

FINDINGS

We obtained 122 studies that met our inclusion criteria, comprising 7,814,996 blood donors tested for HIV. Sixty-six percent of the studies were from Western and Eastern Africa. The pooled seroprevalence of HIV among blood donors in Africa was 2.66% (95% CI: 2.17-3.20%; I2 = 99.80%, p < 0.01). The highest prevalence was observed in the Central African region, 3.28% (95% CI: 2.57%-4.06%), followed by the Eastern 3.21% (95% CI: 2.12%-4.52%), and the Western 2.66% (95% CI: 1.93%-3.49%) regions. Lower prevalences were observed in the Northern region, 0.57% (95% CI: 0.0%-2.10%), followed by the Southern African region with 0.45% (95% CI: 0.16%-0.86%). We observed a temporal decreased trend of HIV prevalence.

INTERPRETATION

The prevalence of HIV infection among African blood donors remains high and is not homogeneous across the continent. Efficient measures to strengthen HIV testing and prevent HIV transmission through blood transfusion are needed in Africa. Systematic review protocol registration: PROSPERO CRD42023395616.

FUNDING

This article was supported by National Funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia,I.P., within CINTESIS, R&D Unit (reference UIDP/4255/2020).

Characteristics and Motivational Factors of Whole Blood and Convalescent Plasma Donors during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in Israel

Demands for whole blood (WB) and COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) donations during the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic presented unprecedented challenges for blood services throughout the world. This study aims to understand the motivating factors that drive WB and CCP donations in the context of the pandemic. This cross-sectional study is based on data extracted from surveys of the two volunteer donor cohorts. The findings reveal that when compared to CCP donors, WB donors were more likely to view donation as a form of social engagement (97.7% vs. 87.1%, p < 0.01), advantageous in the workplace (46.4% vs. 28.6%, p < 0.01), advantageous in their social network (58.6% vs. 47.0%, p = 0.01), and view their donation in the context of positive self-satisfaction (99% vs. 95.1%, p = 0.01). The average age of CCP donors was 7.1 years younger than those who donated WB (p < 0.01). Motivational factors were also analyzed by sex and religiosity. In conclusion, whereas both donor groups showed a high motivation to partake in these life-saving commitments, WB donors were more likely to be motivated by factors that, when better-understood and implemented in policies concerning plasma donations, may help to increase these donations.

Beta thalassemia: Looking to the future, addressing unmet needs and challenges

Thalassemia management has reached new milestones, with new therapies promising the dawning of a new era. However, conventional and new approaches require accessibility, affordability, acceptability/adherence by patients, and medical expertise from healthcare providers. Current treatments still do not offer the expected duration and quality of life, and inequalities in patient care are almost a universal phenomenon. To understand the requirements to achieve improved care, including the adoption of new therapies, for the maximum number of the global patient population, it is necessary to recognize the weaknesses that are experienced in the present so that future corrective action can be taken. Deficits in service provision are due to poor political and financial support, lack of prioritization during resource rationing, and absence of epidemiological information for policy making. These system weaknesses require improved resource management and would benefit from patient support organizations, improved psychosocial support and patient welfare, and an increase in professional expertise through educational programs. Medical products and technology must also be made affordable and widely available, and the curative treatments and cheaper approaches to technology must be recognized as resource saving. Improvements in the access to innovative and quality care, and even a cure, require concerted actions by all stakeholders, including physicians and the patient community.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Seroprevalence of HIV, HBV, HCV and HTLV I-II in a Blood Bank in Medellín, Colombia, 2019-2022

The objective of this research was to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on seroprevalence of HIV, HBV, HCV and HTLV I-II in donors from a blood bank in Medellin, Colombia, 2019-2022. A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out with three groups: pre-pandemic with 14,879 donors; preventive isolation with 9035; and selective isolation + new normality with 26,647 subjects. Comparisons were made with Chi² and Bonferroni adjustment, Kruskal-Wallis' H with Dunnett's post-hoc, prevalence ratios, and multivariate logistic regression. COVID-19 decreased donations of men, altruistic and repetitive donors, and increased the age of donors. HIV increased with the COVID-19 pandemic, while HBV, HCV, and HTLV I-II decreased. The pandemic had an independent effect on these viral infections. These findings constitute an alert about what may be happening in the general population and show the importance of improving epidemiological surveillance and the investigation of these infections.

Prosocial behavior in emergencies: Evidence from blood donors recruitment and retention during the COVID-19 pandemic

The impact of COVID-19 represents a specific challenge for voluntary transfusional systems sustained by the intrinsic motivations of blood donors. In general, health emergencies can stimulate altruistic behaviors. However, in this context, the same prosocial motivations, besides the personal health risks, could foster the adherence to social distancing rules to preserve collective health and, therefore, discourage blood donation activities. In this work, we investigate the consequences of the pandemic shock on the dynamics of new donors exploiting the individual-level longitudinal information contained in administrative data on the Italian region of Tuscany. We compare the change in new donors' recruitment and retention during 2020 with respect to the 2017-2019 period (we observe 9511 individuals), considering donors' and their municipalities of residence characteristics. Our results show an increment of new donors, with higher proportional growth for older donors. Moreover, we demonstrate that the quality of new donors, as proxied by the frequency of subsequent donations, increased with respect to previous years. Finally, we show that changes in extrinsic motivations, such as the possibility of obtaining a free antibody test or overcoming movement restrictions, cannot explain the documented increase in the number of new donors and in their performance. Therefore, our analyses indicate that the Tuscan voluntary blood donation system was effective in dealing with the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exploring the unseen effect of COVID 19 pandemic on blood transfusion services in a tertiary care centre

Background

The coronavirus pandemic confronted blood transfusion services with major challenges. The present study was conducted to explore the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on blood transfusion services including seroprevalence of transfusion-transmitted infections.

Material and Methods

A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted and data on blood donation, utilization, camps, plateletpheresis and seroprevalence of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTI) was retrieved from software from March to September 2020 and 2021 and compared with corresponding time periods of three preceding non-pandemic years.

Results

There was a decline of 53.79% and 34.4% in blood donations in 2020 and 2021 respectively with a significant reduction in voluntary donations from 91.8% in the pre-pandemic period to 72.2% in 2020 and 77.7% in 2021. Replacement donors increased by 60.81% and 72.89% in 2020 and 2021 respectively. There was a decline of 48.4% in the number of plateletpheresis procedures in 2020 which increased in 2021 during the dengue outbreak. The decline in total blood donations and issue of packed red blood cells was statistically significant but supply and demand were balanced with no deficit. TTI seroprevalence increased from 1.01% to 1.49%(p<0.001) and 1.51%(p<0.001) in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Replacement donors showed a significantly higher TTI prevalence as compared to voluntary donors(p<0.001). A significant increase in prevalence was observed for Syphilis (0.4%) in 2020 and HBsAg (0.54%), HCV(0.63%) and syphilis (0.25%) in 2021.

Conclusion

The potential consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on blood safety cannot be undermined. Developing a strong database of regular voluntary donors can be instrumental in dealing with future waves and surges in infections.