Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Apr;98(3 Pt 1):e219-24.
doi: 10.1111/j.1423-0410.2009.01274.x. Epub 2009 Dec 10.

Does donating blood for the first time during a national emergency create a better commitment to donating again?

S Tran  1 , E A Lewalski, D M Dwyre, Y Hagar, L Beckett, K A Janatpour, P V Holland
Affiliations

Does donating blood for the first time during a national emergency create a better commitment to donating again?

S Tran et al. Vox Sang. 2010 Apr.

Abstract

Background and objectives: Emergency situations often elicit a generous response from the public. This occurred after attacks on the US on September 11, 2001 when many new blood donors lined up to donate. This study was performed to compare return rates for first time donors (FTD) after September 11th, 2001 to FTD during a comparable period in 2000.

Materials and methods: A total of 3315 allogeneic whole blood donations from FTD at a regional blood centre were collected between September 11th and 30th, 2001. Subsequent donations by the FTD before March 31, 2002 were reviewed. This (test) group was compared to 1279 FTD (control group) donating during the same time period in September 2000 and to their return rate in the subsequent 6 months.

Results: Following September 11, 2001, 1087/3315 (32.8%) FTD returned by March 31, 2002. This return rate was similar to the control group [427/1279 (33.4%)]. The deferral rate during the donor screening process for the control group was significantly higher than the deferral rate for the September 11-30, 2001 group (P < 0.01). The odds of an individual FTD returning increased with age, and the chance of a female donor returning was 1.13 times higher than a male (P = 0.06). There was a carryover effect after September 11, 2001 too.

Conclusion: A national emergency, September 11, 2001, inspired people to donate blood for the first time. However, the proportion of return donations amongst them was not increased. Females and males in certain age groups were more likely to become repeat donors due to the residual effect of September 11, 2001. Additional efforts are needed to retain eligible FTD in donor pools.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors have a conflict of interest which impacts the findings of this study.

References

    1. Blood Donations Urgently Needed to Support Tragedy Victims. Press release of America’s Blood Centers. 2001 September 11;
    1. America’s Blood Centers Releases Numbers from Last Week’s Blood Collections. Press release of America’s Blood Centers. 2001 September 19;
    1. Glynn SA, Busch MP, Schreiber GB, Murphy EL, Wright DJ, Tu Y, Kleinman SH. Effect of a national disaster on blood supply and safety. JAMA. 2003;289:2246–53. - PubMed
    1. America’s Blood Centers Say Blood Supply Is Adequate for Now. Press release of America’s Blood Centers. 2001 September 12;
    1. Hupfer ME, Taylor DW, Letwin JA. Understanding Canadian student motivations and beliefs about giving blood. Transfusion. 2005;45:149–61. - PubMed

Publication types