A population-based longitudinal study on the implication of demographic changes on blood donation and transfusion demand.

ABSTRACT: Transfusion safety includes the risk of transmission of pathogens, appropriate transfusion thresholds, and sufficient blood supply. All industrialized countries experience major ongoing demographic changes resulting from low birth rates and aging of the baby boom generation. Little evidence exists about whether future blood supply and demand correlate with these demographic changes. The ≥50% decline in birth rate in the eastern part of Germany after 1990 facilitates systematic study of the effects of pronounced demographic changes on blood donation and demand. In this prospective, 10-year longitudinal study, we enrolled all whole blood donors and all patients receiving red blood cell transfusions in the state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. We compared projections made in 2005 based on the

SUBMITTER: Greinacher A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5737597 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature