Title
Association of donor reaction severity with donor retention in a North Indian blood center
Authors
Jyoti Bharti1, Tulika Chandra1,* & Mallika Agarwal2
Affiliation
1Department of Transfusion medicine, King George's Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India; 2Department of Pathology, D.Y. Patil Medical College, Pune, Maharashtra, India; *Corresponding author
Jyoti Bharti - E-mail: jyoti73890@gmail.com; Phone: +91 9305240130
Tulika Chandra - E-mail: drtulikachandra@gmail.com; Phone: +91 9415755536
Mallika Agarwal - E-mail: agarwal.mallika@gmail.com; Phone: +91 7754088822
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received July 1, 2026; Revised July 31, 2026; Accepted July 31, 2026, Published July 31, 2026
Abstract
Vasovagal reactions (VVRs) during blood donation may reduce donor retention and compromise blood availability. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the incidence, severity, risk factors, and effect of VVRs on donor return among 73,511 blood donations recorded in 2025. Overall, 264 VVRs (0.36%) were observed, with significantly higher rates in male donors (0.45% vs. 0.19%; p = 0.041), while first time donation was strongly associated with incomplete donation (p < 0.001). Most reactions were mild (87%), whereas increasing reaction severity was significantly associated with reduced donor retention (p < 0.001). Thus, data shows the importance of targeted preventive measures and donor-centered follow-up to improve donor safety and promote repeat blood donation.
Keywords
Donor reaction, vasovagal reaction (VVR), donor retention, hemovigilance, repeat donor
Citation
Bharti et al. Bioinformation 22(7): 4303-4310 (2026)
Edited by
P Kangueane
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
