Donor-reported stress type affects inflammatory blood markers prior to donation - 10/07/25

Doi : 10.1016/j.tracli.2025.06.004

Fabrice Cognasse ^a,^b,^⁎ , Marco Heestermans ^a,^b, Charles-Antoine Arthaud ^a,^b, Marie-Ange Eyraud ^a,^b, Amelie Prier ^a,^b, Jacques Chiaroni ^c,^d, Bruno Danic ^e, Pierre Tiberghien ^k,^l, Elisabeth Huis in ’t Veld ^f,^g, Barbara Masser ^h,^i,^j, Anne-Claire Duchez ^a,^b, Hind Hamzeh-Cognasse ^a
^a Université Jean Monnet Saint-Étienne, Mines Saint Etienne, INSERM, SAINBIOSE U1059 F-42023, Saint-Etienne, France
^b Etablissement Français du Sang Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, 42100 Saint-Étienne, France
^c UMR7268, ADES, EFS, CNRS, Université d’Aix Marseille 13003 Marseille, France
^d Etablissement Français du Sang PACA Corse, 13001 Marseille, France
^e Etablissement Français du Sang Bretagne, Rennes, France
^f Department of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands
^g Donor Medicine Research, Sanquin Research, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
^h Clinical Services and Research, Australia Red Cross Lifeblood, Australia
ⁱ School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
^j National Institute for Health and Care Research Blood and Transplant Research Unit in Donor, Cambridge, UK
^k Etablissement Français du Sang, La Plaine, Saint-Denis, France
^l UMR 1098 RIGHT Inserm Université de Franche-Comté, Etablissement Français du Sang, Besançon, France

^⁎Corresponding author at: Etablissement Français du Sang Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and INSERM U1059, 25 Boulevard Pasteur, 42100 Saint-Etienne, France.Etablissement Français du Sang Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and INSERM U105925 Boulevard PasteurSaint-Etienne42100France

Sous presse. Épreuves corrigées par l'auteur. Disponible en ligne depuis le Thursday 10 July 2025
Cet article a été publié dans un numéro de la revue, cliquez ici pour y accéder

Highlights

•	Blood donation stress raises cortisol, showing neuroendocrine activation linked to donation anxiety.
•	Family stress boosts RANTES, highlighting ties between social stress and inflammatory signals.
•	Donation stress increases sCD40L, especially in women, indicating a sex-specific stress response.

Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.

Abstract

Background and objectives

Psychosocial stressors may contribute to inflammation. The aim of this study was to assess soluble inflammatory markers in blood donors’ while they donated, focusing on perceived stress from family, work or from the act of donating.

Materials and methods

Donors answered yes/no questions about stress (family, work, or donation-related) and rated puncture pain (0–9). Blood samples were centrifuged and analyzed by ELISA for inflammatory markers, including cortisol, RANTES, sCD40L, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and serotonin, focusing on platelet-derived inflammatory factors.

Results

Cortisol levels were higher in donors who experienced blood donation related stress as compared to donors who did not experience any type of stress. The molecule RANTES was only significantly higher in donors who experienced family stress. A significant increase in the concentration of sCD40L in the plasma of the whole sample and female donors is observed only in the group who only experienced stress related to blood donation, but not family or work-related stress.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that stress experienced before blood donation may influence the inflammatory profile of blood components. Further research is needed to explore the impact of donors’ experiences of psychosocial stressors on transfusion outcomes and on blood components characteristics.

Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.

Keywords : Inflammation, Immunologic factors, Transfusion, Stress