title: Demographic profile of blood donors at three major Brazilian blood centers: results from the International REDS-II study, 2007 to 2008.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The profile of blood donors changed dramatically in Brazil over the past 20 years, from remunerated to nonremunerated and then from replacement to community donors. Donor demographic data from three major blood centers establish current donation profiles in Brazil, serving as baseline for future analyses and tracking longitudinal changes in donor characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were extracted from the blood center, compiled in a data warehouse, and analyzed. Population data were obtained from the Brazilian census.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During 2007 to 2008, there were 615,379 blood donations from 410,423 donors. A total of 426,142 (69.2%) were from repeat (Rpt) donors and 189,237 (30.8%) were from first-time (FT) donors. Twenty percent of FT donors returned to donate in the period. FT donors were more likely to be younger, and Rpt donors were more likely to be community donors. All were predominantly male. Replacement donors still represent 50% of FT and 30% of Rpt donors. The mean percentage of the potentially general population who were donors was approximately 1.2% for the three centers (0.7, 1.5, and 3.1%). Adjusting for the catchment's area, the first two were 2.1 and 1.6%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Donors in the three Brazilian centers tended to be younger with a higher proportion of males than in the general population. Donation rates were lower than desirable. There were substantial differences in sex, age, and community/replacement status by center. Studies on the safety, donation frequencies, and motivations of donors are in progress to orient efforts to enhance the availability of blood.
authors.affiliation: Hemominas Foundation, Rua Grão Pará, 882 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil 30150-241. anna.proietti@hemominas.mg.gov.br
authors.forename: Anna Bárbara
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Carneiro-Proietti
authors.forename: Ester C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Sabino
authors.forename: Divaldo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sampaio
authors.forename: Fernando A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Proietti
authors.forename: Thelma T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Gonçalez
authors.forename: Cláudia D L
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: João E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Custer
authors.forename: George B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Schreiber
authors.forename: Edward L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Busch
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001782:Blood Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017848:Blood-Borne Pathogens / Q000145:classification; D001938:Brazil; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011634:Public Health; D012727:Sex Characteristics