Blood donation by the elderly. Clinical and policy considerations
J. Pindyck, J. Avorn, M. Kuriyan, M. Reed, M. J. Iqbal and S. J. Levine
At present, healthy potential blood donors older than the age of 66 years
often leave the donor pool for reasons of age alone, despite the fact that
this demographic group is growing, is a potentially willing source of blood
products, and constitutes the cohort with highest per capita use of blood
and its derivatives. There is no clinical or physiological rationale for
this. We performed a controlled study to measure the feasibility and safety
of blood donation by healthy elderly donors aged 66 years and older,
compared with a younger cohort aged 55 to 65 years of age. A study group of
prior donors aged 66 years and older and a control group of prior donors
between the ages of 50 and 65 were sent letters inviting them to donate
blood. The volume donated did not differ between the two groups. In the
older group, there were eight immediate reactions, seven mild and one
moderate. The control population experienced seven immediate reactions, six
mild and one severe. We conclude that it is both clinically feasible and
efficient to recruit healthy prior donors older than the age of 66 years
for blood donation. As a group, this population is potentially able to
donate large volumes of blood and do so without any difference in immediate
or short-term reactions. Further study of hemodynamic variables as more
objective markers of safety is needed.
