Clean Blood: Transfusion Transmitted Infection days are not over

Abstract

Objective: Blood transfusion saves millions of lives but there is always a potential risk of transmission of blood borne infections from the donor to the recipient if the blood is not thoroughly screened. A high seroprevalence of transfusion transmitted infections (TTI) in donated blood remains the blood safety issue in Pakistan. This study was aimed to determine the frequency of TTIs (Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), syphilis and malaria) among blood donors. Methods: Data records of all registered blood donors (n=120,968) during 2008-2019, at blood transfusion center in the tertiary care hospital were assessed. Frequency of the seropositive donors for HIV, HCV, HBV, syphilis and malaria was analyzed. Results: Donors were predominately males (99%) with age groups ranging from 25-65 years. HCV, syphilis and malaria positive cases were mostly in the age range of 26-35 years. Most of the donors (81.1%) were residents of Islamabad. The most prevalent infection among the screened blood donors was HCV (1.52% with 95% CI 0.423-0.661) followed by syphilis (0.85% with 95% CI1.149-1.432). HCV and syphilis were most frequently observed in blood group B positive patients while HIV was common in O positive patients. The frequency of co-infection of syphilis with HCV and HIV was 0.02% and 0.01% respectively. Conclusion: Among males, the most prevalent TTI infection was HCV followed by HIV; the latter is on the rise. However, HCV and syphilis are the most frequent co-infections. So, TTIs days are not over.