Abstract

Background and Objectives

Blood transfusion is one of the main pillars of modern medicine. Ensuring the supply of safe blood is one of the primary responsibilities of blood transfusion centers. This study compares the gender and age group characteristics of blood donations in three provinces of Iran.

Materials and Methods

This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using cumulatively collected data from the blood transfusion database from across the country in 2022 (1401 according to the Iranian calendar). Three provinces were selected based on high, medium, and low numbers of donated blood units. Gender and age group data in blood donations from the three provinces were compared using the chi-square statistical method and standardized residual post- hoc test.

Results

In 2022, a total of 2,223,492 units of blood were donated. The lowest number of units was in Ilam with 18,201 (0.8%), medium in Yazd with 43,359 (2%), and the highest in Tehran with 695,233 (16.6%). Female gender in Ilam was higher than in the other two provinces, at 6.57% compared to 2.97% in Yazd and 3.82% in Tehran, (p < 0.0001). The age group of 26-35 years in Ilam with 10.99% was higher than in Yazd with 9.56% and Tehran with 9.60% (p < 0.0001). The age group of 51-55 years in Tehran with 10.27% was higher than in Yazd with 9.37% and in Ilam with 9.05% (p < 0.0001).

Conclusions 

This study shows that there are significant differences in the gender and age group characteristics of blood donors in the three provinces of Ilam, Yazd, and Tehran. These differences can help policymakers and health managers adopt more appropriate strategies to increase blood donors recruitment in each province.