Donor Management

February 2026 · 7 min

Overview

Donor Management covers the entire donor lifecycle -- registration, screening, eligibility determination, blood collection, adverse event monitoring, and long-term donor retention. The system maintains a complete donor history across all donations, including deferral reasons, inter-donation intervals, and adverse reactions.

Bio-Ecko's donor module complies with NACO (National AIDS Control Organisation) and SBTC (State Blood Transfusion Council) guidelines, and supports both in-house donations and external blood donation camps.

Donor Registration & Screening

Navigate to Blood Bank > Donors > Register Donor:

1. Demographics -- Name, age, gender, address, phone, Aadhaar/ID number, and photograph.
2. Donor Type -- Voluntary, Replacement (for a specific patient), Autologous (self-donation before surgery), or Directed (for a specific recipient).
3. Medical History Questionnaire -- Auto-generated from NACO guidelines. Covers:
   • Recent illness, surgery, or medication.
   • High-risk behavior screening.
   • Travel history (malaria-endemic areas).
   • Previous transfusion or transplant history.
   • Pregnancy and lactation (for female donors).
   • Tattoo or piercing in the last 6-12 months.
4. Physical Examination -- Weight (minimum 45 kg), blood pressure, pulse, temperature, haemoglobin (minimum 12.5 g/dL).
5. Eligibility Determination -- Based on questionnaire + physical exam: Eligible, Temporarily Deferred (with return date), or Permanently Deferred (with reason code).

The system blocks donation if the donor was deferred previously and the deferral period has not elapsed. It also enforces the minimum inter-donation interval (male: 90 days, female: 120 days).

Blood Collection

For eligible donors:

1. Bag Label Generation -- Print labels with a unique donation number, donor barcode, blood group (if known from previous donation), and collection date.
2. Collection Recording -- Bag type (single, double, triple, quadruple), target volume (350 mL or 450 mL based on weight), phlebotomy start/end time.
3. Pilot Tube Samples -- Samples for blood grouping, TTI testing, and cross-matching are collected simultaneously and linked to the donation number.
4. Adverse Reaction Monitoring -- During and after donation, record any reactions: vasovagal (mild/moderate/severe), haematoma, nerve injury. Grading follows ISBT hemovigilance criteria.
5. Post-Donation Care -- Donor rests for the configured observation period (default 15 minutes). Refreshments are documented.
6. Component Separation Scheduling -- The system auto-schedules component preparation based on the bag type and the blood bank's processing SOP (e.g., separate into PRBC + FFP + platelets within 6 hours).

The donation record permanently links the donor, bag number, components prepared, TTI test results, and eventual recipient -- enabling full traceability.

TTI Testing Integration

All donations must be tested for Transfusion Transmitted Infections before the blood can be issued:

• Mandatory Tests (NACO) -- HIV I & II, Hepatitis B (HBsAg), Hepatitis C (Anti-HCV), Syphilis (VDRL/RPR), Malaria (antigen/antibody).
• Optional Tests -- CMV, Chagas, Zika (configurable based on local requirements).

Test samples from the pilot tubes are routed to the TTI testing section (in-house or external lab). Results flow back to the donation record:

• All Reactive -- The donation is quarantined and discarded per protocol. The donor is permanently deferred and counseled.
• All Non-Reactive -- The blood components are released to available inventory.
• Repeat Reactive -- Triggers confirmatory testing per the testing algorithm (ELISA > Western Blot/NAT).

The system enforces that no component can be issued until all mandatory TTI results are recorded and non-reactive.

Blood Donation Camps

Organize and manage external blood donation camps:

• Camp Planning -- Schedule camps with venue, date, organizing body, target units, and staff assignment.
• Pre-Registration -- Import or manually enter a list of pre-registered donors from the organizing body.
• Mobile Collection -- Camp staff use tablets/laptops with offline-capable data entry. Donor registration, screening, and collection data sync to the main system when connectivity is available.
• Camp Kit Management -- Track bags, pilot tubes, reagents, and refreshments issued to the camp and returned unused.
• Camp Summary Report -- Total donors screened, eligible, deferred, units collected, adverse reactions. Generates the format required for SBTC submission.
• Donor Follow-Up -- Thank-you messages sent via SMS/WhatsApp after the camp. Donors are added to the voluntary donor database for future camp invitations.

Donor Retention & Communication

Building a loyal voluntary donor base reduces dependence on replacement donations:

• Donor Database -- Searchable registry of all past donors with blood group, last donation date, and eligibility status.
• Recall Notifications -- Automated SMS/WhatsApp reminders when a donor becomes eligible again (after the inter-donation interval).
• Emergency Donor Alerts -- For rare blood groups (Bombay, Rh-negative variants), broadcast an urgent request to matching donors in the database.
• Donor Recognition -- Track donation milestones (5th, 10th, 25th, 50th donation) for recognition and awards.
• Donor Card -- Generate a digital or printable donor card with blood group, donation count, and next eligible date.

Notes

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