Background: A significant imbalance in access to safe blood is seen between the developing and developed countries. Donor selection has a pivotal role in preventing transfusion related complications and provide safety to the recipients. In this study, we aimed to find out rate and causes of blood donor rejection in our hospital.  Methods: A retrospective study conducted in a tertiary care hospital involving both the voluntary and replacement donors during the period September 2017 to December 2018. We included all those donors who were considered unfit for blood donation. All those who came for blood donation at our hospital were asked to fill up an enrolment form for a blood donor. A general and systemic examination were done. We calculated the rejection rate, listed the reasons for donor rejection, and analyzed the data.Results: Among 150 rejected blood donors, most were males [129 (86%)], and the rest were females [21 (14%)]. The rejection rate in our study was 3.29%. We found that the rejection rate of donors was different among voluntary and replacement donors. It showed that the most common reason for the temporary rejection of blood donation was low hemoglobin level, followed by abnormal blood pressure.  Conclusions: A vast majority of donors were rejected temporarily [132 (88%)], while the rest of them were rejected permanently [18 (12%)]. Low Hb in females and abnormal blood pressure in males were the commonest causes of blood donor rejection. Many factors affect the similarities and variations between the most typical causes of blood donor rejection, such as geographical area, cultural, socio-economic, and educational factors.

Background: Despite the advent of many synthetic and semi-synthetic products, the importance of biological blood products cannot be undermined in the current era. The blood donors are the backbone of any health care delivery system that has a well-organized blood transfusion service.Methods: A prospective study conducted for the period of 16 months aimed to find out various complications and their frequencies before, during or after the blood donations. The donors who developed any complications were followed up for at least three weeks to assess the late reactions if any. Blood donation was carried out with proper precautions and asepsis by experienced phlebotomists.Results: Out of 10346 blood donations, 9887 were from replacement donors, while 459 were from voluntary donors. Total donation associated complications were 113, out of which the majority were VVRs (n=74), followed by venous hematomas (n=34) and arterial punctures (n=5). Of the 74 donors who had a VVR after blood donation, the incidence was higher in females (1.64% versus 0.69%). A higher incidence of VVRs was seen among the donors who had a history of previous blood donation.Conclusions: This study strengthened the fact that though blood donation is relatively safe, it still has a complication rate of nearly 1%. To encourage for blood donation at a regular interval, all the possible steps should be taken to minimize the rate of complications. More medical attention should be given to the “at-risk” donors.