Background

Among blood donors in Germany, the most frequently positive virus parameter leading to a donation ban is Hepatitis E. Although most donors with Hepatitis E viremia are asymptomatic, the detection of HEV triggers notification of local health authorities and a temporary donation ban. Rarely, donors complained about these actions. We reasoned that non-complaining donors might also be upset and refrain from future donations. Therefore, we investigated the impact of HEV notification on donor return

Methods

Donations were tested for HEV using the AltoStar HEV RT-PCR Kit 1.5 (altona Diagnostics). HEV positive donations between 01-Mar-2020 and 28-Feb-2021 were identified. Donations from the same donation date and nearby donation number (if possible index number + 5) were used as controls. Donors with more than 6 donations per year were excluded from analysis. The number of donation attempts within 18 months before the index donation and within 18 months after the donation ban were determined and the difference calculated. The differences of HEV positive donors and control donors was evaluated. Statistical comparisons were calculated using Students t-Test.

Results

From 01-Mar-2020 and 28-Feb-2021, 625 HEV positive donations were identified. After exclusion of frequent donors, 606 HEV positive donors and 610 controls remained. The mean number of donations 18 months before the HEV positive donations was 2.64 ± 1.94 (mean ± SD). After the donation ban, there were 2.71 ± 2.33 donations within 18 months (p>0.5). Donations numbers of controls were 2.55 ± 2.01 donations before and 2.75 ± 2.24 donations after the index donation. The difference between donation number before and after the event was similar for HEV positive donors (0.07 ± 2.23) and controls (0.20 ± 2.06; p>0.3). Donation attempts during ban were 0.05 ± 0.44 (controls 0.49 ± 0.61; p<0.001).

Conclusion

Notification on HEV infection and the accompanying discomfort did not relevantly impact on donation frequency of the donors. Most donors respected the temporary donation ban. The slight increase in the mean number of donations after the index date was likely a result of the inclusion of donors without prior donation. Obviously, the vast majority of donors is able to cope with an information on HEV infection in a rational manner.

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