Nursing Interventions in Preventing Vasovagal Reactions in Blood Donors

Despite advancements in modern medicine, the demand for blood products for use in e.g. surgical procedures and cancer treatments remains high. As a result, countless chronically ill and injured people are dependent on the willingness of volunteers to donate blood. Research has consistently shown that the experience of adverse blood donation events, such as vasovagal reactions (VVRs), has a negative impact on donor retention. The purpose of this thesis was to describe what kind of nursing interventions can be implemented to reduce the risk of VVRs occuring in blood donors. The aim was to provide the Finnish Red Cross (FRC) Blood Service with information which could potentially be used to develop current work practices. The research method chosen for this thesis was that of a literature review. A search of several online databases was conducted, using pre-determined search terms and distinct inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of seven records were selected after employing a critical appraisal tool. The data was analyzed according to the principles of inductive content analysis, resulting in three main categories; Adoption of Psychologic Approach, Emphasis on Physiologic Intervention and Update of Donor Selection Criteria. The findings revealed that several interventions are effective in preventing VVRs in blood donors. Physiologic interventions such as Applied Muscle Tension (AMT) and pre-donation water loading, as well as psychologic approaches to reduce anxiety in blood donors, were found to be potentially beneficial. At the FRC Blood Service collection sites, nurses are responsible for most aspects of the blood donation process, including screening and deferral of potential blood donors. Because of this, nurses are in a unique position to lead the way in the prevention of VVRs, as they work closely together with donors. It was therefore deemed quite possible that the findings of this literature review could have a very tangible impact on this comparatively small niche of nursing practice. Though fairly solid evidence exists supporting several VVR interventions, little time and effort has been dedicated thus far to explore the validity of social support, caffeine ingestion or even audio-visual distraction as potential preventive interventions against VVRs. It is there- fore highly recommended that further research exploring alternative methods of VVR prevention in blood donors be carried out, in order to ensure adequate donor retention and a sufficient blood supply