BLOOD DONATION--IMMUNE SEQUELAE AND RECRUITMENT

The overall purpose of this study is to determine if there are immune
sequelae related to the long-term donation of blood or blood products.
Detailed studies of possible immune alterations due to donations are
critical in determining safety for donors. The proposed study will
investigate many aspects of the immune response which have not been
studied in these donors to determine if any alterations occur in long-
term donors or develop over time in new donors. The first objective of this study is to investigate changes in immune
function which may occur as a result of blood, plasma, or platelet
donations. Our preliminary studies have shown evidence of alterations in
immune parameters in normal apheresis donors with the most marked
changes occurring in long-term plasmapheresis donors. To ascertain
whether donation of blood or blood products alters specific immune
parameters, we will study WBC receptors known to be involved in normal
host defense mechanisms, lymphocyte subpopulations, plasma proteins, and
complement activation products from 30 individuals in each of 4 separate
donor groups: whole blood donors, bulk plasma donors, plasma donors
stimulated with incompatible RBC, and platelet donors. Donor immune data
will be compared with results in nondonor controls will also be
correlated with demographic data, donation history, laboratory data, and
clinical findings. The second objective of this study is to determine if changes in an
individual donor's immune status occur over time. A longitudinal study
of 15 new donors in each donation group will be performed to evaluate
alterations in immune function that may occur in committed donors of
blood products and whether there is any clinical significance to the
findings. New donors will be enrolled in donation groups and followed
longitudinally for a period of up to 2 years.