DISTRESS
The general aim of this project was to provide detailed insight into donation-induced stress responses, and their effects on hemostatic parameters. The results, retrieved from a systematic literature review, routinely administered register data from the blood bank, combined with data from a survey study, and an observational field study indicate the presence of an overall donation-induced stress response as well as an effect on the donor’s hemostasis. In short, psychological and physiological stress responses indicate a decrease in stress from pre- to post-donation, and peaking during needle insertion and uncoupling. Blood Bank professionals should be aware of the phenomenon that negative experiences are associated with increased stress levels and aim to adequately comfort the donor during the negative experience, as well as during subsequent visits.
Further, this study defined several key moments during a routine donation (e.g. at arrival, medical screening, needle insertion and uncoupling) which are likely to cause an increase in psychological and physiological stress. Thus, as routine donation-induced changes in blood pressure and pulse rate are shown to occur, they may lead to an overestimation of genuine blood pressure or pulse rate during the medical screening. Finally, additional research is needed to replicate and extrapolate the findings yielded by these studies on the different stress measures and their effects on hemostasis. As a final step, although the changes in hemostasis do not appear to compromise donor safety, future studies should further explore the clinical relevance for the donor and combine this with the effects of donation-induced stress on the blood product and the potential consequences for the future recipient.
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