Response Rate of Blood Donors in the Uttarakhand Region of India After Notification of Reactive Test Results on their Blood Samples

Agarwal N

BACKGROUND: An adequate, safe supply of blood and blood components is a crucial part of blood transfusion services. Blood donors with reactive screening test results are informed of their results by letter and telephone call, and are requested to come for counselling either at the blood centre or the integrated counselling and testing centre. Many notified donors either do not respond at all or do not follow up their first visit to the blood bank. This study was undertaken to determine the response of voluntary blood donors after notification of their reactive status by telephone call or letter.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: We considered reactive donations during a 2-year period (January 2010 to December 2011). Blood donors with reactive test results were notified and their response rates were evaluated at various levels.

RESULTS: During the study period, 416 donors (0.87%) were found to be reactive for different markers. Of these 416 reactive donors, 249 (59.8%) responded positively to the notification calls and attended counselling. The response rate was highest among donors reactive for hepatitis B virus (HBV) (154/225 i.e. 68.4%). After their first visit, around 6% donors could not be contacted further and were lost to follow up. Fifty donors (22.3%) did not continue their treatment and two (both reported to be HBV reactive) were subsequently found to be negative. Therefore, at 6 months of follow-up, only 182 donors (43.7%) were continuing/had completed their treatment.

DISCUSSION: The response rate of reactive blood donors in developing countries is quite low. These results suggest insufficient health care knowledge and a poor understanding of screening tests.