The prevalence of vasovagal reactions among blood donors in Kurdistan province and its effect on blood donor return rates

The most common type of reaction in blood donors is vasovagal reactions (VVRs). VVRs can negatively affect donor retention. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of VVRs in Kurdistan Blood Center and impact of VVRs on donor return rates.

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on the donors referring to Blood Center of Kurdistan province in 2015. In addition, donors who had VVRs were evaluated for return donation within 12 months. Results were analyzed by SPSS 16 software and Pearson's correlation was applied for analysis.

A total of 25891 blood donors were enrolled. Of the total number of donors, 170 (0.65%) experienced VVRs (157 male and 13 female); of these, 164 (95.9%) developed mild reaction, 3 (1.8%) had moderate, and 4 (2.4%) developed severe reaction. The mean age of female and male donors who experienced VVRs was 31.4 and 30.73 years, respectively. First-time donors (1.2%) had greater possibility to have a reaction. Donors with hemoglobin less than 15 gr/dl were significantly associated with VVR (p=0.004). The correlation of the body weight with VVR was significant (p=0.008). The return rate within 1 year was 18% (32/170) among donors with VVRs.

The results showed that the frequency of vasovagal reactions is higher in men with a greater weight loss than the minimum defined for blood donation