Ramadan favors first blood donation, but not frequent donation: Results of 10,145 blood donors from Algeria

CONTEXT: Frequent blood donors contribute to an important share of blood donations in many countries. In Algeria, frequent donation and its determinants, notably the place of the month of Ramadan, which plays an important role in blood donation in Muslim countries, have not been studied. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of n = 10145 Algerians who donated blood to the blood transfusion post (BTP) of Boufarik between January 2, 2008, and December 31, 2019. Donors were assessed at each donation for general clinical information, demographic information, and dates and times of donation. Donor return, defined as two or more donations to Boufarik BTP, and frequent donation, defined as three or more blood donations to Boufarik BTP, were the outcomes of interest and were analyzed using groups comparison and logistic and Cox regression analyses. RESULTS: 2.2% of donors were frequent donors and donated 9.6% of all donated blood. The volume of donated blood during Ramadan was twice the monthly volume during the rest of the year, but donation in Ramadan was associated with lower odds of return (odds ratio [OR]: 0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.40–0.71) and frequent donation (OR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.24–0.73). Women were underrepresented (10.9%), but they were more likely to be frequent donors (male vs. female OR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.31–0.96; hazard ratio: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.41–0.98). CONCLUSIONS: Reducing the gender gap and promoting return could significantly improve the volume of blood donations in Algeria.