Barbara M Masser1,2, Stephen Wright3, Marc Germain4, Yves Grégoire4, Mindy Goldman5, Shelia F O'Brien5, Hany Kamel6, Marjorie Bravo6, Eva-Maria Merz7,8, Katja van den Hurk7, Femmeke Prinsze7, Minoko Takanashi9, Zoe Wilder10, Beth Shaz11. 1. School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia. 2. Research and Development, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia. 3. Research and Development, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, Sydney, NSW 2015, Australia. 4. Héma-Québec, Quebec City, Québec, Canada. 5. Canadian Blood Services, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 6. Vitalant, Scottsdale, Arizona. 7. Department of Donor Medicine Research, Sanquin Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 8. Department of Sociology and Center for Philanthropic Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 9. Japanese Red Cross Society Blood Service Headquarters, Tokyo, Japan. 10. Welsh Blood Service, Pontyclun, UK. 11. New York Blood Center, New York, New York.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study examined the impact of age and sex of first-time donors who had not experienced an adverse event or deferral on their likelihood of and time to return. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: On behalf of the Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion (BEST) Collaborative, international blood collection agencies (BCAs) were invited to provide data on first-time whole blood donors in 2014, including initial presentation date, collection site type, age, sex, blood type, return to donate within 24 months (yes/no), and subsequent presentation date. RESULTS: Eight BCAs contributed 706,789 records. The overall odds of returning to donate were slightly lower in female versus male donors, and the overall age trend was U-shaped with younger and older donors having higher odds for returning relative to middle-aged donors. However, variations by BCA were observed. Specifically, in three BCAs, women had higher odds of returning to donate than men. Further, while across seven BCAs the smallest cohort of older first-time donors returned at a higher rate and returned more quickly than middle-aged first-time donors, the behavior of younger donors varied substantially between BCAs. CONCLUSION: While older first-time donors are more likely to return and return more quickly than middle-aged donors they make up only a small proportion of first-time donors, whereas the larger group of younger donors exhibits less clear patterns of return compared to middle-aged donors. Further research is needed to determine whether targeting the recruitment of older donors or bolstering retention of middle-aged donors would be most effective in maintaining the blood supply.
BACKGROUND: This study examined the impact of age and sex of first-time donors who had not experienced an adverse event or deferral on their likelihood of and time to return. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: On behalf of the Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion (BEST) Collaborative, international blood collection agencies (BCAs) were invited to provide data on first-time whole blood donors in 2014, including initial presentation date, collection site type, age, sex, blood type, return to donate within 24 months (yes/no), and subsequent presentation date. RESULTS: Eight BCAs contributed 706,789 records. The overall odds of returning to donate were slightly lower in female versus male donors, and the overall age trend was U-shaped with younger and older donors having higher odds for returning relative to middle-aged donors. However, variations by BCA were observed. Specifically, in three BCAs, women had higher odds of returning to donate than men. Further, while across seven BCAs the smallest cohort of older first-time donors returned at a higher rate and returned more quickly than middle-aged first-time donors, the behavior of younger donors varied substantially between BCAs. CONCLUSION: While older first-time donors are more likely to return and return more quickly than middle-aged donors they make up only a small proportion of first-time donors, whereas the larger group of younger donors exhibits less clear patterns of return compared to middle-aged donors. Further research is needed to determine whether targeting the recruitment of older donors or bolstering retention of middle-aged donors would be most effective in maintaining the blood supply.
Authors: Fernanda G M D Estrada; Claudia D L Oliveira; Ester C Sabino; Brian Custer; Thelma T Gonçalez; Edward L Murphy; Dahra Teles; Alfredo Mendrone-Junior; Steve S Witkin; Cesar de Almeida-Neto Journal: Transfus Med Date: 2020-05-28 Impact factor: 2.019