ABSTRACT Background Blood donor deferral is a critical safeguard to protect both donor health and transfusion safety. However, deferral practices can adversely affect blood availability and donor retention. The aim of this study is to evaluate deferral patterns among voluntary blood donors and to identify opportunities to optimize deferral strategies. Methods Deferral data were retrospectively collected from the blood transfusion management system of a single center between January 2019 and December 2023. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 25, with p < 0.001 considered statistically significant. Results A total of 148,282 blood donors were included, of whom 18,343 (12.37%) were deferred. Temporary deferrals accounted for 10.95% (16,240/148,282) and permanent deferrals for 1.42% (2103/148,282). The leading causes of temporary deferral were abnormal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, representing 51.33% (9415/18,343) of all deferrals, followed by low hemoglobin levels at 12.20% (2237/18,343), lipemic blood at 7.12% (1306/18,343), non‐medical reasons including time constraints, procedural complexity, and psychological concerns at 6.90% (1265/18,343), hypertension at 4.08% (749/18,343), and medication use at 2.26% (414/18,343). Permanent deferrals were most frequently attributed to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity at 4.12% (755/18,343) and syphilis antibody positivity at 2.89% (530/18,343), while nucleic acid reactivity accounted for 0.26% (48/18,343). Conclusion Targeted donor education, optimization of pre‐donation screening, and refinement of deferral criteria may improve donor recruitment and retention while maintaining transfusion safety.
Feng et al. (Sun,) studied this question.