Last update:
   31-May-2023
 

Arch Hellen Med, 40(3), May-June 2023, 317-323

ORIGINAL PAPER

Participation at a regional blood donation centre in Crete (Greece)
during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic lockdown period

N. Rikos,1 M. Fragiadaki,1 C. Frantzeskaki,1 A. Kassotaki,1 A. Mpalaskas,1 M. Linardakis2
1Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Heraklion, Crete
2Clinic of Social and Family Medicine, Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

OBJECTIVE To investigate the frequency of volunteer blood donation during the lockdown period.

METHOD A retrospective-observational study was carried out in the spring of 2021 at the blood donation department of a general hospital in Crete, in Greece. The study retrieved archival data on 3,704 blood donors, comparing four months, two before (April and November 2019) and two during (April and November 2020) the pandemic lockdown periods in Greece. Distributions of descriptive characteristics were assessed, using x2 tests to estimate secular trends.

RESULTS Of the 3,704 donors, 79% were males, and the mean age was 41.0±10.8 years. Of the four months studied, the month with the lowest blood donation frequency was April 2019 and that with the highest was November of the same year. A decrease of -5.3% was observed between 2019 and 2020 (p>0.05). The number of blood donors was higher in November 2019, April 2020 and November 2020 compared with April 2019, with the highest increase in November 2019 (+23.8%) and the lowest increase in November 2020 (+1.8%), during the second lockdown period. Across the four months, April 2019 to November 2020, a reduction in blood donation by males was observed (from 83.2% to 76.6%) and a corresponding increase by females (16.8% to 23.4%), and by those living in rural areas (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS The restrictions imposed due to fears of super transmission of the virus during the lockdown period did not appear to change volunteer blood donation, which remained at approximately the same levels as before the lockdown period.

Key words: Blood donation, COVID-19, Lockdown, Pandemic, Volunteering.

© Archives of Hellenic Medicine