Blood center practice and education for blood donors with anemia.

Between 40,000 and 50,000 apparently healthy individuals present to donate blood across the United States each day. Because of the high underlying prevalence of anemia in the United States and the frequent development of iron deficiency anemia in regular blood donors,1–5 hematocrit (Hct) and/or hemoglobin (Hb) testing is performed as a screening test to qualify individuals for blood donation. Approximately 10% are not allowed to donate blood because of low Hct (<38%) or low Hb (<12.5 g/dL).6,7 This is, by far, the most common cause for deferral from blood donation.7–9 Development of successful, new strategies that provide donors with accurate information about the causes and potential treatments for their low Hct could improve donor health, reduce the number of low Hct deferrals, and have a major impact on the availability of blood. This is difficult to accomplish because of the wide spectrum of potential causes for low Hct and a general consensus that blood centers should not serve as a medical treatment facility that could potentially substitute for the donor’s personal physician. Therefore, many blood centers provide donors deferred for low Hct, including those with significant anemia, with only minimal information, such as a list of iron-rich foods, and encourage them to return to donate again the next day. Providing better education to blood donors about the causes of low Hct deferral is a clear opportunity to improve their health and increase the efficiency of blood collection.10–12 To address this problem a team of physicians and scientists from the National Anemia Action Council, Blood Center of Wisconsin (BCW), Medical College of Wisconsin, and Puget Sound Blood Center have formed a partnership to improve the health of blood donors deferred for low Hct. We set out to do this by first examining the different strategies blood centers use to care for those deferred for low Hct to assess the types of information provided to donors with anemia and the criteria used for recommending a donor seek additional medical attention. As educational pamphlets have been shown to be useful instructional tools in blood donor education,13,14 we assessed the effectiveness of an educational pamphlet our group has developed to motivate donors deferred for low Hct to seek appropriate medical care. This pamphlet provides blood donors with literacy-appropriate information about the reasons for their low Hct deferral.10 The results of these companion survey studies identify wide variations in current practices among blood centers in the United States and underscore the need for development of effective educational programs about anemia that can be applied in a standardized manner at blood centers across the United States.