BACKGROUND

To investigate the short-term effects of blood donation on the morphology and blood flow of the retina and choroid in healthy people using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

METHODS

Twenty-eight healthy blood donors (56 eyes) who participated in the 200 ml voluntary blood donation between March 2, 2021 and January 20, 2022 were included. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), intraocular pressure (IOP), subfoveal choroid thickness (SFCT), retinal thickness (RT), retinal superficial vascular density (SVD), deep vascular density (DVD) and foveal avascular were a (FAZ) were measured and statistically analysed 10 min before, 30 min and 24 h after the blood donation.

RESULTS

The 200 ml blood donation could cause significant IOP reduction at 24 h (P = 0.006), which was negatively correlated with SBP (r = -0.268, P = 0.046), while SBP, DBP, or ocular perfusion pressure were not affected (> 0.05). Moreover, no significant difference existed in the OCT and OCTA indexes, including SFCT, RT, SVD, DVD, and FAZ, before and after the 200 ml blood donation (P > 0.05). The visual acuity was not affected either (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The 200 ml blood donation was noted to be associated with statistically significant IOP reduction at 24 h, while SBP, DBP, or OPP was not affected. The blood flow of the retina and choroid or the visual acuity did not change significantly after the blood donation. Larger studies with different volumes of blood donation were needed to further analysis the effect of blood donation on ocular parameters.