Factors affecting blood donation intervals and survival of blood donors based on a sample in southern Iran: A Prospective Study

Background and Aim: The healthy blood is a life saver. The healthiest blood is produced from regular blood donors. Therefore, identification of these individuals is one of the main goals of blood transfusion centers. This study aimed to identify the factors influencing the re-donation of blood donating volunteers. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cohort study on all blood donors who donated blood for the first time from March 21, 2009, to March 20, 2010. They were followed up for five years. Demographic characteristics, type of blood donation and time interval between two blood donations were recorded as recurrent events. Data were then analyzed using Logit Model for Multinomial Responses and Cox s shared frailty model. Results: Of the 2010 blood donors, 50.1% had only one time, 33.7% as the repeated donor, and 16.2% as the regular donor had regular donations. The frequency of blood donation was in the range of 1 to 20 with a mean of 4.54±3.29. Spearman correlation coefficient showed a significant reverse relationship between the number of donations and the time interval between two donations. The variables of gender, marital status and occupation had a significant effect on the blood donation of the repeated donors and regular donors. Gender, age at the time of the first donation, marital status and occupation have a significant effect on the intervals between blood donations. Conclusion: Most blood in Iran is supplied by men and those who are the first-time donors. Providing coded and applied programs to encourage women and individuals who have had only one blood donation can be an important step in transforming this group of volunteers into regular donors.

Keywords:

First-time donor , Recurrent event , Type of blood donation , Regression model , Iran