Blood donor complications after whole-blood donation.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review focuses on the common and uncommon adverse events that occur during or after whole-blood donation. The incidence of seeking outside medical care for an adverse event is at least 1 in 3400 blood donations. Physicians may encounter blood donors with adverse events and should be familiar with their prognosis and treatment.

RECENT FINDINGS: There are 15 million whole-blood donations per year in the United States, and one third of the donors develop one or more adverse events. A recent study defined the common complications based on a postdonation interview as bruise (23%), sore arm (10%), fatigue (80/%), and vasovagal reaction (7%). A 2003 American Red Cross national donor complication database from 7,000,000 whole-blood donations classified reported donor complications and the incidence of outside medical care. Descriptive studies have been published on vasovagal syncopal reactions, antecubital nerve injuries (irritations), and arterial punctures, and the medical outcomes for these entities have been more precisely defined. The effect of blood donor adverse events on donor retention rates is a new area that is just beginning to be studied.

SUMMARY: The incidence of complications and types of complications is more precisely defined today. Medical outcomes are better defined for vasovagal reactions, nerve injuries (irritations), and arterial puncture. These data should help physicians who encounter these entities.