Implementation of the Uniform Donor History Questionnaire across the American Red Cross Blood Services: increased deferral among repeat presenters but no measurable impact on blood safety

• Published in: Transfusion (Philadelphia, Pa.) Vol. 47; no. 11; pp. 1990 - 1998
• Main Authors: Zou, Shimian, Eder, Anne F., Musavi, Fatemeh, Notari Iv, Edward P., Fang, Chyang T., Dodd, Roger Y.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.11.2007; Blackwell Publishing
• Subjects: Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Banks; Blood Donors; Blood. Blood and plasma substitutes. Blood products. Blood cells. Blood typing. Plasmapheresis. Apheresis; Bone marrow, stem cells transplantation. Graft versus host reaction; Emergency and intensive care: techniques, logistics; Humans; Infection - etiology; Infection Control; Intensive care medicine; Intensive care unit. Emergency transport systems. Emergency, hospital ward; Medical sciences; Prevalence; Red Cross; Safety - statistics & numerical data; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards; Transfusions. Complications. Transfusion reactions. Cell and gene therapy; Suboptimal donor; American; Transfusion
• ISSN: 0041-1132; 1537-2995
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1537-2995.2007.01422.x

BACKGROUND: The Uniform Donor History Questionnaire (UDHQ) was implemented across the American Red Cross Blood Services in 2005. This study assessed the potential impact of changes inherent in UDHQ implementation on deferral and on prevalence of infectious disease markers among donated units. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Deferral and donation records were extracted and analyzed for the period of April 1, 2005, to September 30, 2005, after the implementation of the UDHQ and for the same period in the previous year. For comparison, most of the questions in the UDHQ were aligned with corresponding questions in the previous questionnaire, although such alignment could not be exact because of changes in the wording and organization of the questions. RESULTS: From 2004 (1 year previously) to 2005 (UDHQ), significant changes in deferral rate were observed for different groups of deferral questions, with the largest being +99.2 percent for “man who had sex with another man” and +92.0 percent for “receipt of blood, tissue, organ, or clotting factor concentrates or a bleeding condition or a blood disease” among repeat presenters. Changes to the educational material and the wording of questions, elimination of compound questions, and other concurrent changes could have contributed to the changed deferral rates. There was no significant change in prevalence rates of major infectious disease markers. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of the UDHQ impacted on donor deferral, including increased deferral among repeat presenters. No significant impact was observed for infectious disease marker rates. Further monitoring for longer‐term trends is recommended.