The potential benefits of extra screening for glycated haemoglobin, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol on donor health management and retention.

Background and objectives: An extra health screening, including glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), was initiated for regular donors aged over 40 in Taiwan in November 2015. This study aimed to determine its benefits on donor health management and retention.

Materials and methods: A stratified random mail survey was conducted among donors who received HbA1c, TC and LDL-C screening between November 2015 and June 2017 to investigate their awareness of the screening, medical histories and post-screening behaviours. Their subsequent screening results and donation records from 3 years before and after the initial screening were obtained up to December 2021.

Results: In total, 2070 donors participated in the mail survey, with participation rates ranging 15.7%-23.2% across study groups. The screening newly detected hyperglycaemia in 1.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2%-2.0%) and hyperlipidaemia in 1.0% (95% CI: 0.7%-1.4%) of participants, with 42.7% (95% CI: 40.3%-45.2%) of participants unaware of the screening. Participants with initially abnormal or borderline TC or LDL-C results showed significant decreases in the subsequent screening (all p values<0.05). No difference was found in participants' awareness of the screening. However, those who sought medical consultation or made specific lifestyle changes tended to show greater improvements. Awareness of the screening was associated with increased whole blood donations and donated units.

Conclusion: The extra health screening has limited benefits for donor health management without additional interventions, but it may motivate donors to donate more frequently. Raising donors' awareness of the screening is also crucial to maximize its benefits.