Monitoring iron stores in Icelandic blood donors from 1997 through 2019.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the frequency of iron deficiency (ID) and anaemia in blood donors in Iceland and the impact of serum ferritin (SF) testing policy change. BACKGROUND: Blood donations contribute to ID and/or anaemia in whole blood donors (WBD). SF may be used to monitor blood donor iron stores. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included WBD and new donors (ND) in the Icelandic Blood Bank in 1997-2019. SF was measured for ND and intermittently for WBD until October 2017, but thereafter for all WBD and ND at every visit. In January 2018, the SF threshold increased from 14 to 16 µg/L for ND and from 8 to 10 µg/L for WBD. RESULTS: The study included 85 370 SF results from 243 369 visits of 32 910 donors. Median SF was higher for males than females, both for ND (88.0 vs. 31.2 µg/L, p < 0.001) and WBD (before 2018: 43.0 vs. 22.0 µg/L, p < 0.001). After the policy change in 2018, median SF increased for both male WBD (to 45.2 µg/L, p < 0.001) and female WBD (to 25.7 µg/L, p < 0.001). ID (SF <15 µg/L) was present in 10.6% of female ND and 0.5% of male ND. After policy change, the proportion of WB donations associated with ID decreased for males (from 6.4% to 4.0%) and females (from 18.9% to 14.1%). ID anaemia was present at some time in 3.7% of female WBD and 1.2% of male WBD. CONCLUSION: This nationwide study showed that ID in WB donors is common, especially among females, but monitoring SF may improve donor management.

Blood donors in Iceland: a nationwide population-based study from 2005 to 2013.

BACKGROUND: Demographic information of blood donors is important to formulate strategies for recruitment and maintenance of the donor group. Factors like aging population, increasingly advanced medical treatments, and growing safety initiatives to protect donors and recipients of blood components are likely to affect the size of the donor group in the future. The purpose of this study was to determine the size of the donor group in Iceland and describe the demographic and donation characteristics. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The size of the Icelandic donor group was determined and the demographic and donation characteristics described, particularly of all newly registered and whole blood donors in the country from 2005 to 2013. RESULTS: Overall the prevalence of whole blood donors per population decreased by 24.2% between 2005 and 2013 or by 3.4% per year. Females and males were almost equally represented as newly registered donors (44.7%/55.3%) but males were better represented as whole blood donors (26.7%/73.3%). Only 57.5% of newly registered donors in 2005 to 2006 returned to donate blood in the period 2005-2013. CONCLUSION: In parallel with a period of decreased demand for red blood cells, the number of whole blood donors and donations declined in Iceland between 2005 and 2013 but still with adequate supply. A smaller retention among females than males gives the opportunity to focus on increasing the share of women among regular blood donors. Strategic work toward effective recruitment and retention of newly registered donors is needed to ensure a sufficiently large group of blood donors in Iceland in the near future.