Information for Blood Donors

I. Rights of Blood Donors

As a blood donor, you have the right to

• Change your decision to donate blood and withdraw from the blood donation at any time;
• Ask questions about blood donation and circumstances of the blood collection;
• Information about the importance of voluntary and unpaid donation;
• A detailed explanation of the method and type of collection of blood and/or its components, including any possible risks related to the procedure;
• A detailed explanation of the reasons that prevent you from donating blood or its component due to possible health hazards to you or the recipient of the transfusion product made from your blood;
• Know about the methods of pre-collection (laboratory and clinical) examination and mandatory examinations used to test the blood that you donated;
• Know what the options for further processing and use of blood and blood components are;
• Information about the fact that the donated blood and its components will be used in the specified manner only it they meet the safety and quality criteria;
• Information about the results of laboratory tests that were performed on your blood;
• Privacy during the interview with a physician and during clinical examination;
• Protection against misuse of information relating to the donation of your blood and your health condition;
• To receive information about the storage of personal data and other information about your health condition and their protection against misuse according to applicable law.

 

Collection of blood or blood components from a not completely healthy donor

In the event that you are not completely healthy, any collection of your blood or blood components can cause you harm. Therefore, we perform basic tests that are used to assess your eligibility to donate blood. Any abnormal results of the examination will be disclosed to you. The physician of the Blood Transfusion Department is responsible for temporary or permanent exclusion from donating blood. We will inform you about the reasons for exclusion.

 

Adverse Reactions to Blood Collection

You may have the following adverse reactions (complications) to blood collection:

• Haematoma, bruising (bleeding into the subcutaneous tissue after injection) - the risk of this complication can be reduced by applying proper pressure on the injection spot after the collection;
• Overall reaction, fainting, which are caused by insufficient adaptation of the blood circulation to changes in the blood collection or inadequate emotional reaction - fainting occurs most frequently in starved, stressed donors and when the donor leaves the blood collection seat quickly;
• In the case of automated blood collection with the use of instruments, when anticoagulant solution is added to the donor's blood circulation during the blood donation, minor muscle twitches may occur due to fluctuations in the level of calcium (usually tongue numbness, tingling in the lips etc.) - if calcium is not administered or the speed of the collection adjusted, this can lead to more serious spasms. It is therefore very important that you report the very first unfamiliar symptoms that you feel.

 

 

Treatment using blood and blood components causes a risk of transmission of infectious diseases from the blood donor to the recipient of blood transfusion. There are many blood-borne infections, the following are considered to be serious: Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, AIDS and syphilis, which are subject to mandatory testing in the Czech Republic for the above reason.

 

The risk of transmission of infection

by selecting a suitable blood donor can be reduced by testing donated blood

 

Donor selection

The risk of blood-borne diseases is permanently or temporarily increased, for example, by:

• Risky sexual behaviour
• Sexual intercourse with a person infected with HIV or AIDS
• Random sexual partners
• Sexual intercourse between men (also applies to the female sexual partners of such men)
• Sexual intercourse for money or drugs (prostitution)
• Sexual intercourse with a person engaged in prostitution
• Sexual intercourse with a person who uses injection drugs
• Sexual intercourse with a person who is being treated with blood products and blood derivatives
• Close contact with patients with infectious hepatitis (common household, sexual contact)
• Occurrence of the Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease and its variants (vCJD = BSE, TSE) in the family
• Stay in Great Britain and France (more than 6 months) in the years 1980-1996 (theoretical risk of a variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease), transfusion in Great Britain after 1980
• Tattoo, piercing in ears, body piercing, acupuncture, etc., carried out outside health facilities
• Contamination of mucous membrane with or skin injuries caused by infectious material
• Endoscopic examinations (e.g. in the stomach, intestines, urinary and respiratory tract)
• Transfusions (administration of a transfusion product)
• Treatment with preparations of human origin (e.g. for growth and developmental disorders - human growth hormone)
• Surgeries
• Neurosurgery using a graft of the dura mater, corneal transplants
• Transplantation using a graft of animal origin, transplantation using tissue or cells of human origin
• Stay in a correctional facility (prison)
• Treatment or monitoring for venereal disease
• Drug addiction and alcoholism
• Use of injectable drugs, steroids or hormones not prescribed by a physician (even in the past)

 

Self-exclusion

If you realize that your blood could jeopardize the transfusion recipient, please withdraw from the blood donation or inform an employee of the Blood Transfusion Department or the blood collection centre of this fact.

 

Other risks

The transfusion recipient's health may be jeopardized by medication that you are or were taking. You will be excluded from blood donation if you use any medication (tablets, injections) for the treatment of acne, psoriasis, hair loss, prostate enlargement, etc. The length of your exclusion depends on the medication and the method of its administration.

The risk of transmission of infection by blood is also increased by any stays of the blood donor in tropical countries, in countries with the incidence of malaria, Chagas disease or Q fever, stay in countries with an increased incidence of infectious diseases (e.g. infectious hepatitis), stay in Great Britain and France

 

Risks to the recipient

Unpaid blood donation                are reduced by                Regular blood donation

 

Risk of infectious disease transmission                           Risk of infectious disease transmission

for the recipient is low when the donor                           for the recipient is low when the donor

is not motivated by direct                                                examined repeatedly

financial benefits

 

Therefore, we prefer                                   Therefore, we encourage you to

unpaid donation.                                         donate blood regularly.

 

Testing of donated blood

In addition to completing the questionnaire for blood donors, laboratory testing and assessment of your medical history, your blood and/or blood components will be tested for signs of the following infections:

 

                    ¯HBV (Hepatitis B)                           ¯HIV (originator of AIDS)

                    ¯HCV (Hepatitis C)                            ¯syphilis (lues)

 

Even with these tests, the absolute safety of the recipients of blood cannot be guaranteed (e.g. because the test can be based on the detection of antibodies and it may take the donor several weeks to create the antibody after the "infection"). Cooperation with you is therefore essential for the patient who will be treated using the products from your blood. We will inform you in case of unsatisfactory results of laboratory tests. Detection of infection with HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, hepatitis C or other blood-borne infections will be the reason for your exclusion from blood donation. Information about your medical condition will be kept in your documentation while respecting the principles of protection of personal data and medical confidentiality. Blood transfusion products made from your blood will be used to treat patients only if they meet the requirements for their quality and safety.