Evaluation of Adverse Events during Plateletpheresis – A Retrospective Study

Introduction: Apheresis is a routine procedure which is well tolerated but may be associated with different adverse events (AEs). In this study, the frequency of various AEs associated with apheresis was evaluated, and the donor variables were analyzed. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in the Regional Blood Transfusion Center of New Delhi. The data of all the apheresis procedures done during a period of 1 year were collected from records in the blood bank. This included the demographic details of the donors (age, sex, weight, height, and blood group), and the details of any adverse reactions during or after the procedure. Results: Out of 96 donors, 19 (19.8%) developed AE during the procedure. All the AEs were of a mild nature, and the procedure was completed in all the cases. When the demographic factors of donors who developed AE were compared with those who did not develop any reaction, there was no significant difference found. Furthermore, there was no significant difference found between these groups for the time duration of the procedure, the volume of anticoagulant used and the donor blood volume processed. Conclusion: In this study, the overall frequency of AE during plateletpheresis was 19.8% which was much higher than that which has been reported previously. All the cases were, however, mild. There were no probable factors found in this study which could predict the occurrence of AE in the donors.