14

history should be evaluated for each donation, on the day of donation prior to blood collection n The BTS should provide appropriate donor information and a simple donor questionnaire for health and risk assessment and obtain the donor’s informed consent to blood donation n Staff should be suitably qualified and trained in the donor selection process n Good communication should be established between the BTS staff and the donor, and donor confidentiality should be assured n The BTS has a duty of care to provide counselling to all deferred donors and referral for their further management. 3.1 DONOR SELECTION PROCESS The purpose of donor selection is to assess the suitability of an individual to be a blood donor so that blood donation is safe for the donor and the blood products derived from this donation are safe for the recipients. The donor selection process should be carried out in accordance with written standard operating procedures. The steps involved in the donor selection process, prior to blood collection, are shown in Figure 1: 1 Donor registration 2 Pre-donation information 3 Completion of donor questionnaire 4 Donor interview and pre-donation counselling 5 Donor health and risk assessment 6 Informed consent. 31 Figure 1: The blood donor selection process Donor registration Pre-donation information Donor health and risk assessment Donor interview and predonation counselling Completion of donor questionnaire Temporary Permanent Deferral from blood donation Acceptance for blood donation Blood donation Confidential unit exclusion Counselling and referral Documentation of deferral On conclusion of temporary deferral period Retention of nonreactive donors as regular donors and reinforcement of healthy lifestyles Blood screening Self-deferral Self-deferral Self-deferral Self-deferral 32 Compliance with all donor selection criteria is crucial to ensure a safe blood donation process and outcomes. All potential and existing donors should be asked to adhere to the blood donor selection criteria by providing accurate information and answers to all questions asked, both for the protection of their health and that of patients who receive transfusion. Donor registration All prospective donors who meet the general criteria for blood donation such as age and good health should be registered when they attend a blood donation session, even if they are subsequently not accepted for donation. Essential donor registration information includes the individual’s full name, date of birth, gender and contact details. A unique donor number should be assigned at first registration. At each occasion of donation, a unique identifier using a numeric or alphanumeric system should be allotted to the donation; this should be attached to the donor questionnaire, primary blood collection bag, its corresponding satellite bags and the blood sample tubes. During donor registration, prospective donors should be provided with donor information and education materials and the donor questionnaire, which should be completed on each occasion of donation. Pre-donation information Pre-donation information is an important step in the blood donor selection. The process of donor selection begins even before donors come to give blood through public awareness campaigns and donor education. At the donation session, predonation information should be provided either orally or through printed, graphic, audio-visual or online materials, presented in a simple and clear format and in appropriate languages. Pre-donation information provides an opportunity for the prospective donors to know about health conditions or high-risk behaviour that would make them unsuitable to donate blood. This information assists the donors in deciding whether to self-defer; it may also assist in donor return if they understand the reason why they should not donate blood on this occasion (36,37). Pre-donation information has the following objectives, to: n Increase donor awareness of the donor selection criteria, the process of blood donation and the tests that will be performed on donors’ blood n Encourage prospective donors to inform the BTS of any medical conditions or TTI-related risks that may affect their suitability to donate blood n Encourage individuals to self-defer from blood donation if they recognize that they are not suitable to donate blood due to general health or medical conditions or risk for TTI. Pre-donation information should cover: n Nature and use of blood and its components; the need for voluntary nonremunerated blood donors; and the importance of maintaining healthy lifestyles n The blood donation process, including the donor questionnaire, donor

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25