ADVERSE REACTIONS TO BLOOD DONATION

Aims & objectives: To describe the various adverse reactions and determine the frequency of their occurrence in whole blood donors. Materials & Methods: Whole blood donors who donated in the Department (27253) & in camps (466) of the Dept. of Transfusion medicine, Government medical college, Thiruvananthapuram during the period January 2009 to December 2009 were the subjects under study. Donors were accepted for donation after screening & certified to be fit by the Medical officer. Blood was collected in standard 350ml blood bags. The donors were observed for any adverse reactions during or following donation Results: Out of the total 27719 donors observed, 564(2.04%) had an adverse reaction of which 319(1.15%) were vasovagal related and 245(0.88%) were needle injuries. Discussion: The risk of complications related to blood donation is low. However, attention towards donor complications is warranted, as it would have detrimental effects on return of donors for subsequent donations and rate of complications resulting in long-term morbidity and disablement is not negligible.

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