Vasovagal Reaction among Whole Blood Donors in

Hospital Pulau Pinang. A Statistical-epidemiological Study.

Ilyas H, Anizah Arshad, Norhaza A Rahim,
Department of Transfusion Medicine, Penang General Hospital, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Context: Whole blood donation is generally considered a safe procedure, however a small
percentage of the donor can develop vasovagal reactions during or after completion of blood
donations. Aim: This study was undertaken to establish the prevalence of vasovagal reaction
among whole blood donors in Hospital Pulau Pinang and to investigate factors that lead to its
occurrence. Subjects and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 27890
whole blood donors that have donated in the year 2016. For each donor, demographic and
donation data is extracted from our blood bank database system. Results: Overall, 425 cases of
VVR were reported, resulting in a VVR rate of 1.5%, which is an incidence of one in every 65
donations. We found a statistically significant association (p<0.05) between young age group,
female gender, Indian race, first time donor, lower pre-donation blood pressure and donation
done in mobile donation campaign with occurrence of VVR. The most common vasovagal
symptom experienced by donors is lightheadedness (88%), followed by nausea (5.4%), muscle
twitching (3.5%), vomiting (1.4%), loss of consciousness less than 30 seconds (1.4%) and
paraesthesia (0.2%). Conclusion: The prevalence of vasovagal reactions among whole blood
donors in Hospital Pulau Pinang appears to be low. Our study reinforces that blood donation is a
safe process, and the incidence of VVR can be further reduced by ensuring strict screening
procedures for better donor selection.

Keywords: Vasovagal reaction, blood donation, blood bank.