Iron Deficiency and Blood Donation: Links, Risks and Management

Blood donor biobank as a resource in personalised biomedical genetic research

Health questionnaires and donation criteria result in accumulation of highly selected individuals in a blood donor population. To understand better the usefulness of a blood donor-based biobank in personalised disease-associated genetic studies, and for possible personalised blood donation policies, we evaluated the occurrence and distributions of common and rare disease-associated genetic variants in Finnish Blood Service Biobank. We analysed among 31,880 blood donors the occurrence and geographical distribution of (i) 53 rare Finnish-enriched disease-associated variants, (ii) mutations assumed to influence blood donation: four Bernard-Soulier syndrome and two hemochromatosis mutations, (iii) type I diabetes risk genotype HLA-DQ2/DQ8. In addition, we analysed the level of consanguinity in Blood Service Biobank. 80.3% of blood donors carried at least one (range 0-9 per donor) of the rare variants, many in homozygous form, as well. Donors carrying multiple rare variants were enriched in Eastern Finland. Haemochromatosis mutation HFE C282Y homozygosity was 43.8% higher than expected, whereas mutations leading to Bernard-Soulier thrombocytopenia were rare. The frequency of HLA-DQ2/DQ8 genotype was slightly lower than expected. First-degree consanguinity was higher in Blood Service Biobank than in the general population. We demonstrate that despite donor selection, the Blood Service Biobank is a valuable resource for personalised medical research and for genotype-selected samples from unaffected individuals. The geographical genetic substructure of Finland enables efficient recruitment of donors carrying rare variants. Furthermore, we show that blood donor biobank material can be utilised for personalised blood donation policies.

Prevalence of Iron Deficiency, Anemia, and Associated Factors in a Blood Donor Population in Brazzaville, Congo

Introduction

Blood donation is not without risk to the donor. It results in a substantial loss of iron and decreased hemoglobin. In our country, no predonation assessment is carried out and the selection of blood donors is only clinical.

Objectives

To determine the prevalence of iron deficiency, anemia, and iron deficiency anemia and to identify the factors associated with anemia and iron status in a blood donor population at the National Center for Blood Transfusion (NCBT). Methodology. A prospective study is carried out that consists of 120 blood donors in three NCBT branches in the capital from June to November 2021. The donors were divided into 3 groups: first time donors (FTDs), occasional donors (ODs) who have already made between 1 and 3 previous donations, and regular donors (RDs) with at least 4 previous donations. Iron deficiency was defined by a serum ferritin value of less than 30 ng/mL in men and 20 ng/mL in women. Anemia was defined by Hb levels below 13 g/dL in men and 12 g/dL in women. Iron deficiency anemia was defined by association of anemia and iron deficiency. The chi-square test was used for the comparison of the proportions. The odds ratio with the 95% confidence interval was calculated to assess the association between two variables. The p value of the probability was considered significant for a value < 0.05.

Results

Mean serum ferritin and hemoglobin values were lower in RD in both sexes. The prevalence of iron deficiency, anemia, and iron deficiency anemia were 16.66%, 31.66%, and 10.83%, respectively. The factors associated with the three abnormalities were female sex, donor type, including RD, and number of previous donations.

Conclusion

Iron deficiency, anemia, and iron deficiency anemia are common among blood donors in Brazzaville. Anemia affects almost a third of blood donors and is not always linked to iron deficiency. Safety of donors should be improved by systematic measurement of ferritinemia and hemoglobin levels before allowing donations for appropriate management in the event of abnormalities.

Effect of large volume red blood cell apheresis on cardiovascular functions in healthy donors

BACKGROUND

Requirements of blood transfusions rise rapidly in China. Improving the efficiency of blood donation could help maintaining sufficient blood supplement. We conducted a pilot research to investigate the reliability and safety of collecting more units of red blood cell by apheresis.

METHODS

Thirty-two healthy male volunteers were randomized into two groups: red blood cell apheresis (RA) (n = 16) and whole blood (WB) donation (n = 16). RA group donated individualized RBC volumes by apheresis according to the volunteers' basal total blood volumes and haematocrit levels, WB group donated 400 mL whole blood. All volunteers were scheduled seven visit times in 8 weeks' study period. The cardiovascular functions were assessed by laboratory examinations, echocardiography and cardiopulmonary functional tests. All results were compared between groups at the same visit time and compared between visit 1(before donation) and other visit times within the same group.

RESULTS

The average donated RBC volume in RA group and in WB group was 627.25 ± 109.74 mL and 175.28 ± 8.85 mL, respectively(p < 0.05); the RBC, haemoglobin and haematocrit levels changed significantly between times and between groups (p < 0.05). Cardiac biomarker levels such as NT-proBNP, hs-TnT and CK-MB did not change significantly between times or between groups (p > 0.05). The echocardiographic and cardiopulmonary results did not change significantly between times or between groups during the whole study period(p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

We provided an efficient and secure method for RBC apheresis. By harvesting more RBC volumes at one single-time, the cardiovascular functions did not change significantly compared with traditional whole blood donation.