Complications in Whole Blood Donors: Facts and Myths – A Comprehensive Review

Abstract Introduction Almost 120 millions of blood units is donated every year. According to global data almost 6.5% of population are blood donors. This great amount is still not enough to satisfy global need, a lot of patients that need regular blood transfusion do not have access to a safe blood. Many therapies today rely on the availability of blood products and blood can be stored only for a specific time concluding that the need for donation is regular. To encourage people to donate blood medical community must provide reliable information so that blood donors could feel safe and taken care of. Blood donation is considered a safe procedure, however, in some cases, complications may occur, which are discussed in the article below. Purpose The aim of the study is to compare available sources of factual and nonfactual complications in whole blood donor. Among society there are lots of contradictory information that can influence on total amount of blood donation and readiness to become a blood donor. In this article we tried to dispel doubts. Materials and methods A literature review was conducted using PubMed as the primary database Google Scholar and medical literature. The search terms included: blood donor, blood donation, low hemoglobin, complication, vasovagal reaction, hypertension. Results Overall complication rate is about 6.3/1000 donations and is significantly higher for component blood donation using the automated method compared to whole blood donation using the manual method. The exact number of all complications varies depending on the data source, the classification criteria used and country. The medical staff responsible for overseeing the donation process is obligated to provide donors with optimal conditions and proper preparation before donation in order to minimize the risk of complications that may negatively affect the quality of blood and its components, as well as the willingness and readiness of donors to give blood.