Retrospective analysis of selected aspects of public blood transfusion service activities as a starting point for assessment of the status of transfusion medicine in Poland. Part 2: Demographic characteristics of the population who donated blood/blood components for clinical use in the period 1997–2017

Background. Demographic changes in Poland, mainly population ageing and the health status of the general population, have direct impact on the number of donors/donations, and therefore on the possibility of securing appropriate amounts of blood and blood components for clinical use. The health status of the population is largely affected by diseases responsible for donor deferral. Recent years have witnessed increment in the percentage of temporary donor deferrals due to various types of allergies, civilization diseases, drug intake as well as frequent travels to areas threatened with new and emerging pathogens likely to be transmitted through blood transfusion. The first and crucial step towards safe blood/blood components and recipient safety is rigorous donor qualification. The structure of the population of Polish donors is not homogeneous, moreover has undergone changes during the period under investigation. It is therefore worthwhile to analyze the dynamics of changes in the number and structure of the donor population to determine the direction and intensity of the phenomenon both in spatial and temporal terms. Equally important is identification of the possible causes. The study aim is to present the demographic characteristics of the donor population found eligible for donation and donated blood/blood components for clinical purposes in the years 1997–2017. Material and methods: Records for the period 1997–2017 included about 11 million voluntary donors of blood/blood components for clinical use and 31.000 remunerated donors. Most study analyses were based on data from the 2005–2017 as not all relevant data were available for the period 1997–2004 period. In the 2005–2017 period donations were collected from over 87% of donors who reported to all RBTCs. Slight year-to-year differences were observed (from approx. 85% to 94%). Donations were mainly collected from voluntary un-remunerated donors (99.8%). The largest number of donors eligible for donation was reported in 2005 (94.1%), and the smallest in 2015 (84.2%). Deferred from donation were 22.0% of women willing to donate and only 9.2% of men. Similar tendency was observed for each year of the study period. Results: Study outcome shows reversal of trends for donor age groups; currently most donors are recruited from the 25–44 age category while several years back it was the youngest age group. For many years now actions promoting voluntary blood donation have been ongoing in Poland. Study-outcome shows big differences in numbers of blood donors reporting to individual RBTCs. Despite many years of nationwide voluntary blood donation promoting campaigns , it is the regional policy of donor acquisition and retention that counts most. Conclusions: A problem that sooner or later will have to be faced by most countries (Poland included) is the decline in the number of working-age population. The demographic structure of the population within areas of activity of each RBTC should be subjected to in depth analysis and include the characteristic microeconomic and demographic conditions as well as macroeconomic and demographic conditions for neighbor regions and the country as a whole. Decisions regarding marketing strategy could then be taken. The research outcome may be a valuable source of information to support effective management of donor service and effective planning of marketing strategy targeted at donors and prospective blood donors