ACCEPT:

• For whole blood donation if the donor has sickle cell trait and their Hb is within the acceptance level

Donors who carry the sickle cell trait must not be accepted to donate by apheresis

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

All donations that are accepted from donors who carry the sickle cell trait must be checked to ensure that the components are leucodepleted.  This is because red cells from some donors with sickle cell trait can block the white cell filters leading to very slow filtration and /or leucodepletion failures

Inform the relevant laboratory of the donor’s sickle cell status by attaching a black luggage tag (BT240) to the unit, stating that the donor has sickle cell trait or by another locally agreed procedure

Donors whose donations result in slow filtration or leucodepletion failures will be written to and permanently excluded from donating

Donors who carry the sickle cell trait must not be accepted as apheresis donors as sickling could occur in the apheresis harness

A sickle cell screen is performed on all S.O.N.D. samples and on donations that are used for neonatal purposes. Some donors may not realise that they carry the sickle cell trait until their donation is tested and they are informed by the IBTS