A retrospective analysis of donor deferral characteristics for plateletpheresis in a tertiary care hospital, South India

Background: There is an increasing demand for platelets in the recent years due to increase in cancer cases, dengue fever, and other platelet-related diseases. Blood bank plays a vital role in supplying platelet units which have better yield and fewer complications. Single donor platelet (SDP) unit is a useful platelet product in many diseases for raising the platelet count. For better yield, a healthy and young donor is required which is a great challenge for the blood bank staff. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was carried out for a period of 4 years from January 2014 to December 2017. Data were collected from the records maintained by the Department of Transfusion Medicine and Immunohematology in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Hyderabad, India. Results: Out of 860, a total of 705 Plateletpheresis donors were selected for SDP donation, and the remaining 155 (18.02%) donors were deferred for various reasons. The predominant age range of the deferred donors was 25–34 years (50.32%). Among the deferred donors, males were 90.32% and females were 9.68%. Temporarily deferred donors account for 98.07% and permanently deferred donors were 1.93%. The most common causes for deferral were low platelet count (31.61%), low hemoglobin (27.09%), and poor venous access (20.64%) and the least common cause was dermatitis at the venipuncture site (1.29%). The most common reason for permanent deferral was seropositivity for HBsAg. Conclusion: Selection of plateletpheresis donor with utmost stringency will give good yield of platelets. Temporary deferred donor should be counseled properly so as to encourage them for the future donations when they become eligible, and this bridges the gap between the demand and supply of apheresis platelets