Blood Donors Help Scientists Conduct Vital Research

When blood donors have a positive test result on a test for West Nile virus, hepatitis or HIV, United Blood Services notifies the donor and destroys the blood donation.  

United Blood Services tests blood donations for myriad illnesses from West Nile virus to hepatitis C. “Donors are usually surprised when they find out that they have an illness” said Medical Affairs Manager for Donor Health Nancy Kiely, who heads up the staff of donor counselors at Blood Systems, the national office of United Blood Services.

Positive test results are rare and very few donors receive the unexpected news.

“They usually don’t have any symptoms and the news catches them off guard,” Nancy said. The counselors tell these donors that their blood will not be transfused, answer any questions the donors may have and advise them to contact their physician to confirm and treat their illness.

For some donors, that bad news is not the end of their lifesaving generosity.

Many sign on with United Blood Services to participate in leading edge research studies. “Most of the time, donors are happy to help,” said Kiely. She explained that her staff invite these donors to visit their local blood centers to provide blood samples that will ultimately be sent to Blood Systems Research Institute (BSRI), the research arm of Blood Systems, for important research on emerging diseases.

Currently United Blood Services is working with BSRI on numerous research studies—from West Nile virus to influenza. The donor counselors provide the researchers with information on donors who would like to participate in the studies. The local blood center collects the additional samples. “It’s exciting to work with donors to advance transfusion safety,” said Blood Systems’ Chief Medical Officer Peter Tomasulo, MD. “These are relatively new activities and they have been growing.”

Blood Systems Vice President for Scientific Affairs Michael Busch, MD, PhD, directs the work at BSRI, and he agreed. “Working with blood donors in this scientific research helps us seek new knowledge that will aid the worldwide transfusion medicine community on many levels—from currently known to emerging diseases,” Busch explained.

This past winter, BSRI began to study influenza in blood donors. Scientists want to know whether donors who have been infected with respiratory flu are viremic, meaning that their blood might infect transfusion recipients. Data from previous studies suggest that people who get the flu are more likely to be contagious during the few days before they feel ill.

All donors are instructed to contact United Blood Services if they feel ill or have flu-like symptoms in the days following their blood donation. This lets the center know not distribute blood that might contain an infection. Donor counselors contact these donors to ask them to join the new influenza study.

Researchers at the Institute agree that blood donors are vital to their research on ways to reduce transfusion risks and improve safety for patients and blood donors.