Rates and reasons for blood donor deferral, Shiraz, Iran. A retrospective study.

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE Knowledge of the reasons for donor deferral can help in planning more efficient recruitment strategies and evaluating donor selection criteria. This study aimed to investigate the rates and reasons for donor deferral. DESIGN AND SETTING Retrospective study at Shiraz Blood Transfusion Center, Shiraz, Iran. METHODS 141,820 volunteers were interviewed confidentially by physicians before blood donation. The rate of and reasons for donor deferral were investigated according to demographic characteristics. The data were analyzed using the comparison-of-proportions test of the MedCalc statistical software. RESULTS 43,839 people (30.9%) who had come for blood donation were deferred, 1,973 (4.5%) of them permanently. The deferral rate was significantly higher among women, single individuals and first-time donors, compared with men, married individuals and those with a history of previous donation (P < 0.0001). The deferral rate was significantly higher in the 17 to 30-year-old group (P < 0.05). The reasons for deferral were divided into five categories: risk factors possibly related to HIV or hepatitis (43.6%), underlying diseases (31.9%), non-eligible conditions (13.5%), medications that interfere with blood donation (7.8%) and risk factors that may relate to bacterial or viral infections except HIV and hepatitis infections (3.2%). CONCLUSION Effective measures are required for documenting the impact of deferral on blood availability, monitoring the effectiveness of and need for deferral, and determining the reasons and rates of deferral.