Background: The donation of blood as a humanitarian action leads to a unique spiritual feeling and a sense of usefulness. Whit the advent of the month of Muharram, this culture of philanthropic is strengthened among the people, and a large number of them refer to blood transfusion centers on the days of Tasuaa and Ashura Hosseini and donate their blood. However, it should be noted that the safety and quality of donated blood should not be sacrificed for quantity and all blood donation steps must be performed correctly.
Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the demographic status of deferred donors such as age, sex, education level and type of donor (first-time or regular voluntary non-remunerated blood donor) as well as kind of deferral among referred to the blood transfusion center of Khuzestan province during these two days.
Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Khuzestan's Blood Transfusion Center in these two major religious in October 2017 and September 2018. The demographic status of donors was recorded and analyzed with SPSS software. Result: Our results indicate the most of deferred donors were between the ages of 25 and 40 years (51.3%), and the majority of deferred donors were male (89.4%). In addition, about 90% of donors were temporarily deferred from blood donation, while less than 10% of the rest were permanently deferred. The number of deferred donors with the diploma and less diploma degree was more than the deferred donors with academic education.
Conclusion: According to the importance of quality donated blood and their quality assurance by the blood transfusion service, as well as the constant need for blood, it is suggested that people refer to blood transfusion centers for donating their blood every day. The blood transfusion organization is also required to increase the chance of returning temporarily deferred donors by providing information about the reason for the deferral and giving an appointment for their next donation after the deferral period. Because of the more than half of the deferred donors do not have academic education, the given information and guidance should be appropriate to their level of education and knowledge.