Introudction: Blood transfusion is a life saving procedure, which saves million of lives every year. It requires adequate supply of safe blood, which can be achieved by proper predonation donor screening. Donors are deferred from donation for several health reasons. The rate and reasons of deferral vary from region to region. Aim: To study the deferral rate and reasons for deferral in potentially healthy voluntary blood donors at various voluntary blood donation camps organized in Gadag, Karnataka, India. Materials and Methods: Analysis of data obtained from voluntary blood donors in various voluntary blood donation camps held around Gadag district, Karnataka was done at Blood bank, attached to Gadag Institute Medical Sciences, Gadag. Analysis of deferral rate and various causes for deferral were done in both male and female blood donors. Results: Total of 469 voluntary blood donors were registered at blood donation camps and 61 were deferred from donation, which constitutes deferral rate of 13%. Overall deferral was mainly due to low hemoglobin (36.1%). Common reasons for deferral in males were hypotension (41.9%) and low hemoglobin (25.8%), whereas in females low hemoglobin, hypotension and underweight constituted 46.6%, 16.7% and 16.7% respectively. Return rate after temporary deferral was zero in our study.

Keywords: Voluntary; Deferral; Donation; Low Hemoglobin.