Retention of "safe" blood donors. The Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study

BACKGROUND: There are obvious advantages to increasing donor retention. However, for reasons of blood safety, certain donors may, in fact, be more desirable to retain than others. “Safe” donors are defined as those who provided a blood donation that was negative on all laboratory screening tests and who subsequently reported no behavioral risks in response to an anonymous survey. This study identifies the most important factors affecting the intention of “safe” donors to provide another donation. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: An anonymous survey asking about donation history, sexual history, injecting drug use, and recent donation experience was mailed to 50,162 randomly selected allogeneic donors (including directed donors) who gave blood from April through July or from October through December 1993 at one of the five United States blood centers participating in the Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study. Before mailing, questionnaires were coded to designate donors with nonreactive laboratory screening tests at their most recent donation. RESULTS: A total of 34,726 donors (69%) responded, with substantially higher response among repeat donors. According to reported intentions only, the vast majority of “safe” donors indicated a high likelihood of donating again within the next 12 months. Only 3.4 percent reported a low likelihood of donating again. A comparison of those likely to return and those unlikely to return reveals significant differences in demographics and in ratings of the donation experience. A higher proportion of those unlikely to return were first-time donors, minority-group donors, and donors with less education. The highest projected loss among “safe” donors was seen for those who gave a fair to poor assessment of their treatment by blood center staff or of their physical well-being during or after donating. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that efforts to improve donors' perceptions of their donation experience, as well as attention to the physical effects of blood donation, may aid in the retention of both repeat and first-time donors.     

Effect of asbestos fibers on aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase and aminopyrine N-demethylase activities of rat liver microsomes

Chrysotile asbestos fibers impair the activities of rat liver microsomal aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH), aminopyrine (AP) N-demethylase and dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) demethylase in vitro. This inhibition is concentration-dependent. Preincubation of 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC)-pretreated rat liver microsomes with chrysotile depresses the overall metabolism of [G-3H]benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). Various forms of asbestos employed inhibit AHH activity to the same extent. However, other types of asbestos are not as effective as chrysotile in diminishing AP demethylase activity. Chrysotile and crocidolite fibers are not found to significantly change the apparent Km of AHH activity, from 3-MC-pretreated rat liver microsomes, for BaP. Increasing the microsomal protein concentration partially abolishes the inhibition of AHH activity caused by chrysotile fibers. Inhibition of AP demethylase and AHH activities is attenuated by bovine serum albumin (BSA) or ferritin. Depression of AHH activity by crocidolite is significantly reversed by ferritin. Since polymers such as ferritin override enzyme inhibition by chrysotile as well as crocidolite, surface chemical groups of the fibers may be involved in enzyme modification.     

Differential inhibition of proliferation of human squamous cell carcinoma, gliosarcoma and embryonic fibroblast-like lung cells in culture by plant flavonoids.

We investigated the antiproliferative effect of two polyhydroxylated (quercetin and taxifolin) and two polymethoxylated (nobiletin and tangeretin) flavonoids against three cell lines in tissue culture. Tangeretin and nobiletin markedly inhibited the proliferation of a squamous cell carcinoma (HTB 43) and a gliosarcoma (9L) cell line at 2-8 micrograms/ml concentrations. Quercetin displayed no effect on 9L cell growth at these concentrations, while at 8 micrograms/ml it inhibited HTB 43 cell growth. Taxifolin slightly inhibited HTB 43 cell growth at 8 micrograms/ml, while moderately inhibiting HTB 43 cell growth at 2-8 micrograms/ml. The proliferation of a human lung fibroblast-like cell line (CCL 135) was relatively insensitive to low concentrations of the above flavonoids.     

Rupture of the posterior tibial tendon: CT and surgical findings

Computed tomography (CT) was performed in 42 patients with 49 clinically suspected tears of the posterior tibial tendon. Twenty-eight of the 49 suspected tears were subsequently surgically explored and repaired. Three patterns of tendon abnormalities were recognized on CT scans: type I-intact, hypertrophied, heterogeneous tendon; type II-attenuated tendon; and type III-absence of a portion of a tendon. Types I and II correlated with partial rupture seen during surgery, and type III correlated with complete rupture of the tendon. CT findings were accurate in 96% of the patients who underwent surgery. In four cases (14%), tendon rupture was seen on CT scans, but the extent of the injury was underestimated and the rupture was misclassified. Reactive periostitis of the distal tibia was seen in 71% of diseased tendons and may represent an important factor in the diagnosis of tendon rupture.     

Bilateral simultaneous tubal sextuplets: pregnancy after in-vitro fertilization--embryo transfer following salpingectomy

The presence of a damaged tube has been suggested in recent studies to have a negative effect on in-vitro fertilization (IVF) outcome. Performing bilateral salpingectomy prior to IVF to maximize pregnancy rates may also result in unnecessary surgery. This case is also an example of the occurrence of interstitial pregnancy after salpingectomy. This unusual type of ectopic pregnancy must be kept in mind when evaluating a patient suspected of a possible early abnormal gestation after assisted reproductive technolologies.