Debra Kessler

Convenience, the bane of our existence, and other barriers to donating

BACKGROUND:  To prevent donor loss and improve retention, it is important to understand the major deterrents to blood donation and to identify factors that can be effectively addressed by blood centers.

The role of altruistic behavior, empathetic concern, and social responsibility motivation in blood donation behavior

BACKGROUND: Blood donation can be described as a prosocial behavior, and donors often cite prosocial reasons such as altruism, empathy, or social responsibility for their willingness to donate. Previous studies have not quantitatively evaluated these characteristics in donors or examined how they relate to donation frequency.

Attitudes toward blood donation incentives in the United States: implications for donor recruitment

BACKGROUND : The potential effectiveness of various donation incentive programs may vary by demographics, first‐time or repeat status, and collection site.

Factors influencing the decision to donate : racial and ethnic comparisons

BACKGROUND:  Understanding factors that encourage different racial and ethnic groups to donate is crucial for donor recruitment and retention.

The impact of male‐to‐male sexual experience on risk profiles of blood donors

BACKGROUND: Men who have had sex with men (MSM) since 1977 are permanently deferred from donating blood. Excluding only men who engaged in male‐to‐male sex within either the prior 12 months or 5 years has been proposed. Little is known about infectious disease risks of MSM who donate blood.

Genetic Diversity of Recently Acquired and Prevalent HIV, Hepatitis B Virus, and Hepatitis C Virus Infections in US Blood Donors

BACKGROUND Genetic variations of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and hepatitis B virus (HBV) can affect diagnostic assays and therapeutic interventions. Recent changes in prevalence of subtypes/genotypes and drug/immune-escape variants were characterized by comparing recently infected vs more remotely infected blood donors. METHODS Infected donors were identified among approximately 34 million US blood donations, 2006-2009; incident infections were defined as having no or low antiviral antibody titers. Viral genomes were partially sequenced. RESULTS Of 321 HIV strains (50% incident), 2.5% were non-B HIV subtypes. Protease and reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitor resistance mutations were found in 2% and 11% of infected donors, respectively. Subtypes in 278 HCV strains (31% incident) yielded 1a>1b>3a>2b>2a>4a>6d, 6e: higher frequencies of 3a in incident cases vs higher frequencies of 1b in prevalent cases were found (P = .04). Twenty subgenotypes among 193 HBV strains (26% incident) yielded higher frequencies of A2 in incident cases and higher frequencies of A1, B2, and B4 in prevalent cases (P = .007). No HBV drug resistance mutations were detected. Six percent of incident vs 26% of prevalent HBV contained antibody neutralization escape mutations (P = .01). CONCLUSIONS Viral genetic variant distribution in blood donors was similar to that seen in high-risk US populations. Blood-borne viruses detected through large-scale routine screening of blood donors can complement molecular surveillance studies of highly exposed populations.

Transfusion-associated babesiosis after heart transplant.

We describe a 54-year-old spleen-intact man with transfusion-associated Babesia microti infection after a heart transplant. Adult respiratory distress syndrome developed in the patient, and he required mechanical ventilation. Our experiences with this patient suggest that babesiosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of transplant patients who have fever and hemolytic anemia.

Lack of evidence of transfusion transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in a US surveillance study.

BACKGROUND: Since 2004, several reported transfusion transmissions of variant Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease (vCJD) in the United Kingdom have reawakened concerns about the possible risk of similar transmissions of nonvariant or classic forms of CJD.

Risk factors for retrovirus and hepatitis virus infections in accepted blood donors.

Risk factor surveillance among infected blood donors provides information on the effectiveness of eligibility assessment and is critical for reducing risk of transfusion‐transmitted infection.

Motivation for blood donation among African Americans: developing measures for stage of change, decisional balance, and self-efficacy constructs

Despite a specific need for transfused blood among African Americans due to higher rates of sickle cell disease, African Americans donate blood significantly less frequently than their White counterparts. This study describes the development and validation of culturally adapted measures of the transtheoretical model (TTM) constructs of Stage of Change, Decisional Balance, and Self-efficacy applied to blood donation in an African American sample. Exploratory and confirmatory analyses produced one pros and two cons scales for the Decisional Balance Inventory, and one scale for the Situational Self-efficacy Measure. Expected patterns for the Decisional Balance and Self-efficacy Scales by Stage of Change were found, but only the pros and one cons scale varied significantly. Results provide support for use of the TTM applied to blood donation and have important implications for development of effective assessment and intervention tools to increase blood donation among the African American population.