[Demography and donation frequencies of blood and plasma donor populations in Germany. Update 2010 and 5-year comparison]

Abstract

The Robert Koch Institute collects and evaluates nationwide data on the incidence and prevalence of transfusion-relevant infections among blood and plasma donors in Germany. Since 2006 data not only on the number of donations tested but also on the number of the respective donors have become available. The demographic profile and donation frequencies of German whole blood, plasma and platelet donors in 2010 and the percentages among the general population are described and compared to data from 2006. Although the general population eligible to donate blood is on the decline since 2003, with a loss of 2% between 2006 and 2010, this has not led to a decrease in the number of blood donors and donations. Instead, the number of new and repeat whole blood donors increased by 8% and 7%, respectively. At the same time, the number of new plasma donors grew by 23%, that of repeat plasma donors by 41%. In 2010 more than 4.3% of the population aged 18-68 years was active as repeat whole blood donors; 0.4% repeatedly donated plasma or platelets. Since 2006 the percentage of donors among the general population increased significantly, especially among the youngest age group (18-24 years). Donation frequency varied depending on donor age and sex, with an average of 1.9 per year for whole blood donations, 12.5 for plasmapheresis and 5.0 for plateletpheresis. While the donation frequency for whole blood remained unchanged since 2006, the frequency of apheresis donations increased, especially among older donors. By recruiting more new donors and retaining and reactivating existing ones more effectively, the number of whole blood and apheresis donations was augmented.