Fear of donation‐related stimuli across different levels of donation experience and types of donation (whole‐blood and plasma): A cross‐sectional study in Italian donors

Background: Donation-related fears are prevalent even among regular donorsand can hinder both recruitment and retention. This cross-sectional studyaimed to estimate the prevalence of these fears in Italian whole-blood andplasma donors, across different levels of donation experience.Study Design and Methods: A sample of 615 voluntary, unpaid donors fromItaly (64.1% male, mean age 45.42 ± 11.80 years) completed an online surveyassessing their fear of common donation-related stimuli (fear of blood, needles,pain, and fainting), experience of vasovagal symptoms at the last donation, andtheir intention to donate again. Donors were grouped based on donation his-tory and their most recent donation type (whole-blood or plasma).Results: A significant negative relationship was found between donation his-tory and most types of donation-related fears, suggesting that greater experiencecorresponds to reduced fear. Plasma donors reported lower levels of fear acrossall stimuli compared to whole-blood donors. Despite this, nearly one-third of themost experienced whole-blood donors and 20% of plasma donors still reportedsome level of fear. Greater fear was associated with increased reports of pain andvasovagal symptoms during donation, regardless of donation type. However, no significant association emerged between donation-related fears and the intentionto donate again.Discussion: Donation-related fear persists even among experienced donors,for both whole-blood and plasma donors. Given its potential to impact donorcomfort and retention, the assessment and management of donation-relatedfears should be integrated into donor care, with appropriate strategies to helpdonors regulate their fear throughout their donation careers