Good Feasibility of the New German Blood Donor Questionnaire

Background: We assessed the effect of the uniform donor questionnaire (UDQ) on deferral rates in first-time and repeat donors. We focused on the introduced question about unprotected sexual contact with a new partner. Another goal was a stratified comparison of the deferral rates of the donor questionnaire (DQ) and UDQ. Methods: Data on donors and deferrals using the DQ and UDQ were collected at four blood establishments. The comparison included a 2-year period by questionnaire version. For the comparison of the questionnaires, an adjusted multinomial logistic regression was performed. Results: The analysis included 260,848 donations. First-time (FTD) and repeat donations (RD) showed higher deferral rates with the UDQ (FTD +5.4%, RD +1.4%). Deferral due to a new partner was 3.0% in first-time and 0.4% in repeat donors. The majority of these occurred in the youngest age groups. The most frequent deferral criterion was ‘disease' (5.1%). Conclusion: The regression revealed stronger predictors for deferral than the questionnaire version. Especially younger age carried a higher and independent risk for deferral. The additional deferrals of mainly young first-time donors due to a new sexual partner may identify those donors with potential heterosexual risk behavior who would otherwise not be identified

Der einheitliche Spenderfragebogen

Seit Februar 2011 steht ein einheitlicher Blutspenderfragebogen für Blut- und Plasmaspender in Deutschland zur Verfügung. Dieser wurde im Auftrag des Arbeitskreises Blut von einer Expertengruppe entwickelt. Der Fragebogen wendet wichtige Prinzipien der „Guten Fragebogenpraxis“ wie einfache, eindeutige Fragen, möglichst Verzicht auf Listen und klare Adressierung von Risiken für Transfusionsempfänger an.Eine Multicenterstudie mit 6.500 Neuspendern konnte zeigen, dass der einheitliche Fragebogen gegenüber den bislang verwendeten Fragebögen Vorteile zeigte. Insbesondere wurden die Fragen als verständlicher eingeschätzt und die Antworten stimmten mit denen im ärztlichen Gespräch überein. Es wurden 4,6 % mehr Neuspender nicht zur Spende zugelassen, vor allem wegen akuter Erkrankungen und Risiken für wichtige Infektionskrankheiten. Der Fragebogen wird in Zukunft kontinuierlich an die bestehenden Regelwerke angepasst. Er bietet somit einen sicheren Standard für Spendeeinrichtungen, die sich für seinen Einsatz entscheiden.In February 2011 a uniform blood donor history questionnaire (DHQ) for Germany was published. This questionnaire was developed by a group of experts from the National Advisory Committee „Blood“. It includes key features like non medical language, short sentences, few lists (e.g. of diseases) and direct assessment of behaviour resulting in a in a potential risk for the recipient. The evaluation of the DHQ in a multi-centre trial with 6500 first time donors revealed that donors considered the new DQ as easier to understand than the established DQ. The given answers were in concordance with those made in the personal interview in all categories with new DQ. 4,6% additional deferrals were observed with new compared to established DQ. Deferrals more often were due to acute illness or sexual risk behaviour. The DHQ will be adapted continuously to the current regulations in the future. It therefore serves as a safe standard for blood establishments who decide to use it