Should Kiribati continue to aim for 100% voluntary non-remunerated blood donation as recommended by the WHO?

Setting: Tungaru Central Hospital Blood Bank Labora�tory, Nawerewere, Tarawa, Kiribati.
Objective: To determine characteristics, deferrals and
reasons for deferral amongst blood donors from 2011 to
2016.
Design: A cross-sectional study using routinely collected
data.
Results: From January 2011 to March 2016, 8531 poten�tial blood donors were registered. For each full year, the
proportion of voluntary non-remunerated blood donors
(VNRBD) was below 10%, although it increased to 13%
in 2015. The overall proportion of blood donors deferred
increased each year over the 5-year period, from 44% to
57%, with similar increases in deferrals in VNRBD and
family replacement donors (FRD). Among all blood do�nors, a higher proportion of females than males (59% vs.
43%) and VNRBD than FRD (56% vs. 44%) were de�ferred (P  0.001). Deferrals were due to 1) failing the
medical questionnaire (53%), 2) having anaemia and/or
high white cell count (26%), or 3) transfusion-transmissi�ble infections (21%). More VNRBD were deferred due to
failing the medical questionnaire, while more FRD were
deferred due to anaemia and/or high white-cell count;
the number of deferrals was similar for transfusion-trans�missible infections.
Conclusion: This 5-year study showed that the propor�tion of VNRBD is low and deferrals are higher for this
group than for FRD. There is a strong case for encourag�ing both types of donor in the country.