Effect of Pain Assessment and Targeted Counselling on Blood Donor Experience: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: Negative blood donation experiences, including pain, anxiety, and donation-related reactions, may adversely affect donor satisfaction and future donation. Structured pain assessment and targeted counselling may improve the donor experience.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of pain assessment and targeted counselling on pain perception and donation-related experiences among voluntary blood donors.

Methods: A single-blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted among 208 male voluntary blood donors at a tertiary care hospital. Participants were allocated equally to a control group receiving standard care (n = 104) and an intervention group receiving targeted counselling (n = 104). Pain perception and donation-related reactions were assessed using the Verbal Rating Scale (VRS), Faces Pain Scale (FPS), and Blood Donation Reactions Inventory (BDRI). Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 21.

Results: Donors receiving targeted counselling reported lower perceived pain than controls. Using the VRS, mild, moderate, and severe pain were reported by 31, 20, and 1 participants, respectively, in the intervention group, compared with 15, 32, and 5 participants in the control group. Similar differences were observed using the FPS. Between-group differences were statistically significant for both VRS (p = 4.87 × 10⁻⁷) and FPS (p = 9.65 × 10⁻¹³). BDRI assessment showed infrequent donation-related symptoms, with no fainting and only isolated reports of dizziness, weakness, and lightheadedness.

Conclusion: Targeted counselling combined with standardized pain assessment was associated with lower perceived pain and an improved blood donation experience. These approaches may be incorporated into routine donor care to enhance donor satisfaction.