Introduction: Everyday, millions of people around the world go through phlebotomy, either to donate BLOOD or for therapeutic intention. The most important worrisome adverse effects are hemodynamic alterations. In this study, hemodynamic changes following BLOOD donation were assessed. Methods & Materials: Three hundred laborers who donated BLOOD voluntarily were enrolled in this study. BLOOD pressure (BP) and pulse rate were measured before the procedure, ten minutes afterwards, and one week following phlebotomy. Hemoglobin (Hgb) and hematocrit (Hct) were also determined prior to and one week after phlebotomy. Finally, results before and after donation were compared with each other. Results: 242 volunteers had normal BP and 58 were hypertensive. The mean systolic BLOOD pressures (SBP) before phlebotomy, ten minutes after the procedure, and one week later were 120, 117, and 122 mmHg, respectively. During the same periods of time, t~e mean of diastolic BLOOD pressures (DBP) were 77 , 78 and 78mmHg , in order, while pulse rates on average were 80 , 82 and 76 beats/minute. None of the aforementioned changes were clinically significant. After one week, Hgb decreased by about 0.3 g/dl (P<0.001) and Hct declined on average of 1.7 (P<0.001). Forty six individuals had high DBP and one week after donation, their DBP was reduced by 7 mmHg. Age, body mass index and smoking did not have any significant effect on hemodynamic status. Conclusion: Hemodynamic changes in healthy BLOOD DONORS were not clinically significant. It seems that DBP drops desirably in hypertensive individuals. This needs to be evaluated more carefully in future studies.

Background and Objectives: Most of BLOOD donations are uneventful. However, adverse effects occur in a limited number of DONORS and have a negative impact on BLOOD donor return rate and donor recruitment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence rate of vasovagal reactions and arm injuries during and after BLOOD donation at Yazd BLOOD Transfusion Centre.Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was performed on 1000 randomly selected BLOOD DONORS from August 2005 to January 2006 at Yazd BLOOD Transfusion Centre. BLOOD DONORS were examined by physicians for vasovagal reactions during and one hour after BLOOD donation. DONORS with arm injuries were interviewed in person after 3 weeks. Data were analyzed statistically using Chi-square, ANOVA, Fischer exact test and T-test.Results: The rate of vasovagal reactions was 2%. There was no severe reaction such as convulsion. The most common arm findings were pain (8.2%), bruise (7%) and hematoma (1.4%). Sensory changes such as numbness and tingling (0.7 %) had the least frequency. All DONORS with arm injuries recovered fully within a week. Repeat and regular BLOOD DONORS had fewer vasovagal reactions than first time DONORS (p<0.05). There was no significant correlation between arm injury and the frequency of BLOOD donation.Conclusions: The incidence of vasovagal reactions in our study was lower than others. It might pertain to correct selection of DONORS by physicians, the presence of trained, expert personnel for BLOOD collection, and care for DONORS. 

Background and Objectives: Iranian BLOOD Transfusion Organization, based on international requirements, for the protection of BLOOD DONORS and recipients, has approved some criteria for the selection of DONORS. This inevitably rejects a number of DONORS from BLOOD donations. This process leads to the promotion of BLOOD safety, but at the same time it loses some DONORS and reduces the likelihood of a donor's return. This study intends to determine the return rate of BLOOD DONORS who have been temporarily rejected from BLOOD donation and to compare it with the return rate of DONORS without any previous rejection. Materials and Methods: This research is cross-sectional descriptive study and the data were extracted from the BLOOD donation data registered in the online database of IBTO. The data were analyzed by software. Results: A temporary rejection for BLOOD donation in DONORS during the period from 2012 to the end of 2014 has reduced their return compared with those who did not have any rejection from 61. 9% to 43. 6%. For those who have been rejected from BLOOD donation due to high-risk behaviors (421428 donations), the return rate was slightly down to 27. 4%. Conclusions: The result of this study showed that the return rate of rejected DONORS was 1. 5 times less than the return rate of accepted DONORS, and this difference was much lower for DONORS who were rejected due to high-risk behaviors.

Introduction: Hypertension is one of the most important preventable risk factors for cardiovascular disease. This observational study aimed to depict the role of regular BLOOD donation on the systolic and diastolic BLOOD pressure (SBP and DBP, respectively) in hypertensive patients in comparison with normotensive people. Methods: This study was performed as a cross-sectional descriptive study on 546 BLOOD DONORS of Vesal BLOOD Donation Center in Tehran who donated between 1 and 4 times in the period of 2016-2017. DONORS were divided into two groups (hypertension and normal BLOOD pressure) based on the systolic BLOOD pressure (SBP) and diastolic BLOOD pressure (DBP) at the time of the first donation. The trend of changes in BLOOD pressure after each donation (second, third and fourth donation) was assessed using SPSS ver. 16 and One way-ANOVA statistical test. Results: In the group of hypertensive patients, after four BLOOD donations, systolic and diastolic BLOOD pressure showed a statistically significant decrease after three or four donations. Systolic BLOOD pressure in this group after the fourth donation decreased from the mean of 149. 1 to 141. 6 mm Hg (P = 0. 03) and diastolic BLOOD pressure decreased from 90. 04 to 86. 08 mm Hg (P = 0. 04 also), respectively. Decreased BLOOD pressure was also observed in the normal group, although this significant decrease was not reported (P> 0. 05). Conclusion: Our results corroborated a down-regulatory effect of regular BLOOD donation on BP in hypertensive people. These findings are rather encouraging people toward voluntary BLOOD donation and can be considered in therapy-related issues.

Your letter to the editor at Archives of Iranian Medicine was forwarded to me. Thank you for your concern. The implementation of routine screening for West Nile virus infection among BLOOD DONORS is not recommended. I agree with your suggestion that a strict pre-donor screening focusing on risk factors and travelling history to endemic areas is essential….

Objective: Occult hepatitis B infection is a form of hepatitis in which despite of absence of detectable HBsAg, HBV-DNA is present in peripheral BLOOD of patients. This clinical form of B hepatitis creates some problems for the Iranian BLOOD transfusion services. Therefore, the aim of this study was the evaluation evaluate of status of occult hepatitis B infection in the Rafsanjanese BLOOD DONORS. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, total of 3700 BLOOD donor samples were collected and tested for HBsAg and anti-HBs using ELISA. The HBsAg negative and anti-HBc positive samples were selected and screened for HBV-DNA using PCR. Results: Results of current study indicated that 352 (9.5%) of 3700 BLOOD samples were HBsAg– and anti-HBc+. HBV-DNA was detected in 57 (16.1% of HBsAg–and anti-HBc+ and 1.54% of total samples) samples. Conclusion: Results of this study are in agreement with our previous studies in the prevalence of OBI. Therefore, it seems that occult hepatitis B infection rate is high in the Iranian BLOOD DONORS and probably is one of the main causes of post-transfusion hepatitis.