Pattern of Donor Adverse Reactions in Blood Donation in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Bangalore, India

Introduction: Blood is one of the unique and precious gift that one person can give to another person. Most donors tolerate blood donation well, but sometimes donors can develop adverse reactions. Aim: To analyse the pattern of donor adverse reactions in blood donation in a tertiary care hospital in Bangalore, India. Materials and Methods: It was an ambispective cross- sectional study. Donors who developed adverse reactions over a period of three years from January 2018 to December 2020 (January 2018 to December 2019- retrospective and January 2020 to December 2020- prospective) in a tertiary care hospital in Bangalore were studied. The parameters analysed were the type of adverse reaction (systemic and local), the reaction in first-time donors or repeated donors, and the gender of the donor. Stata 2016 version was used in the analysis of data. Adverse Donor Reaction (ADR) is reported as a percentage and 95% confidence interval. The percentage of ADR in males and females was compared using the Chi-square test. Results: The population studied consisted of 37,007 whole blood donors, with 35347 (95.51%) males and 1660 (4.48%) females. Among 37,007 donors, 316 donors 316/37007 (0.85%) had adverse reactions out of which, 287 were males and 29 females. There were 238 first-time donors and 78 repeat donors. The Vasovagal Reaction (VVR) was the most common 307 donors (97.15%) systemic ADR seen. Local reactions were seen in 9 donors (2.84%). Conclusion: The number of donors who developed ADRs was low still it is desirable to reduce risks. The ADRs can be reduced by diligently following the screening protocols and carrying out the venipuncture precisely.