Objective: Delay in complete blood count (CBC) analysis is likely in laboratories with very high workload or when the samples are collected off site for testing in centralized laboratories. This research was done to study the stability of blood cell parameters in automated CBC at the room temperature (20°C–24°C) storage after 24 h and refrigerated (2°C–8°C) storage after 24 and 48 h. Materials and Methods: Automated CBC was done initially on 500 randomly selected blood samples in a 3-part hematology analyzer. Of these, 250 samples were stored at the room temperature (20°C–24°C), and the rest were refrigerated at 2°C–8°C. Re-analysis after 24 h was done for both groups. Data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient, ANOVA, and repeated-measure ANOVA. Results: Refrigerated samples stored at 2°C–8°C showed good stability for all hematological parameters (P > 0.5), except for mean platelet volume (MPV) in comparison with those at the room temperature storage. MPV showed a statistically significant (P < 0.001) rise on refrigerated storage. In the room temperature storage group, hematocrit (Hct), mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, red cell distribution width, MPV, and granulocyte percentage showed significant difference compared to the initial values. In the extended 48 h refrigerated storage group, all CBC parameters except Hct showed acceptable stability. Conclusion: The storage of blood samples at the room temperature and on refrigeration (2°C–8°C) for 24 h has shown acceptable stability of most of the automated CBC parameters. Refrigeration retained the true values over the room temperature storage and should be recommended if a delay in testing is expected.

Blood is considered a scarce resource in the world. Many patients requiring transfusion do not have timely access to safe blood and many lives are lost because of this reason. According to the WHO Information Sheets, 2005 80% of the worldwide population has access to only 20% of safe blood. Aim- To analyse the donor profile and the need for voluntary blood donation drives. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among blood donors attending the blood bank of a Tertiary care centre in South India from 2015 to 2019. Results: Out of 7979 blood donations, voluntary donors were only 8.5 % with most (97.8%) of the donors being males. The donors arriving at the blood bank were between 18 and 64 years of age. Of the voluntary donors, about 37% were first-time blood donors. The commonest available blood group was O positive (34.1%) and the least available was AB negative (0.8%). Among the reasons for donor rejection, mismatch between the donor’s blood group and that of the requested unit was the commonest (25.8%) followed by hypertension (22.9%) on examination. HBsAg seropositivity was the majority (0.5%) among the transfusion transmitted infections screened. Conclusion: Efforts should be made to direct all the donations towards voluntary non remunerated ones. Awareness among the general population about the need of blood donation, educating them about the criteria of acceptable donors and discussing the general myths and facts about donation process is also important.