title: The new Scandinavian Donations and Transfusions database (SCANDAT2): a blood safety resource with added versatility.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Risks of transfusion-transmitted disease are currently at a record low in the developed world. Still, available methods for blood surveillance might not be sufficient to detect transmission of diseases with unknown etiologies or with very long incubation periods.
  
  
  METHODS
  We have previously created the anonymized Scandinavian Donations and Transfusions (SCANDAT) database, containing data on blood donors, blood transfusions, and transfused patients, with complete follow-up of donors and patients for a range of health outcomes. Here we describe the re-creation of SCANDAT with updated, identifiable data. We collected computerized data on blood donations and transfusions from blood banks covering all of Sweden and Denmark. After data cleaning, two structurally identical databases were created and the entire database was linked with nationwide health outcomes registers to attain complete follow-up for up to 47 years regarding hospital care, cancer, and death.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After removal of erroneous records, the database contained 25,523,334 donation records, 21,318,794 transfusion records, and 3,692,653 unique persons with valid identification, presently followed over 40 million person-years, with possibility for future extension. Data quality is generally high with 96% of all transfusions being traceable to their respective donation(s) and a very high (>97%) concordance with official statistics on annual number of blood donations and transfusions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is possible to create a binational, nationwide database with almost 50 years of follow-up of blood donors and transfused patients for a range of health outcomes. We aim to use this database for further studies of donor health, transfusion-associated risks, and transfusion-transmitted disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.|Hematology Centre, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Gustaf
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Edgren
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rostgaard
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Senthil K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Vasan
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology and Transfusion Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Agneta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wikman
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Rut
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Norda
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology, Naestved Hospital, Naestved, Denmark.
authors.forename: Ole Birger
authors.initials: OB
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Erikstrup
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Kaspar René
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
authors.forename: Kjell
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Titlestad
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology, the Blood Bank, Rigshospitalet, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ullum
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.|Department of Clinical Medicine, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark.|Department of Medicine, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
authors.forename: Mads
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Melbye
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Olof
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Nyrén
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hjalgrim
mesh_terms: D001782:Blood Donors; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D016208:Databases, Factual; D003718:Denmark; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013548:Sweden