Scientific Journal of

  Abstract

 Background and Objectives

 The complications of blood donation are the first reasons why donors do not return for further blood donation attempts. This study was designed to determine the frequency of these complications and their associated risk factors among blood donors in Tehran. It also aimed to provide suitable methods to decrease the frequency of adverse reactions of blood donation, thus eliminating the most important causes of nonreturn, while ensuring the health of donors.

 Materials and Methods

 This analytical descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 554 blood donors who had donated blood from February 2004 through September 2005 in four fixed blood donation bases and four mobile blood collection buses. Each base was considered as a stratum, and a stratified random sampling proportional to size was done to select the donors.

 Results

 Reported results showed donor reaction rate of 26%, with ecchymosis (22.7%), pain (8.5%), tenderness (5.6%), and hematoma (5.1%) as the most common. The frequency of donor complications has a significant statistical correlation with manner of needle entrance in vein, lack of change in needle position under skin, prolonged phlebotomy, incomplete phlebotomy, and hard work with hand within 12 hours after donation.

 Conclusions

 Regarding the frequency values derived from different complications, it can be concluded that attention to these complications and their control can help encourage donors to become repeat donors preventing their lack of return for further blood donation.

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 Key words : Complications, Blood donation, Risk factors�