Seroprevalence of Transfusion Transmitted Infections in Healthy Blood Donors: A 5-year Tertiary Care Hospital Experience

Introduction: Transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs) can cause threat to bloody safety as blood transfusion is an important mode of transmission of TTI to the recipient, hence, to prevent transmission of these diseases, screening tests on blood bags is an important step for blood safety.

Aim: This study was undertaken with the aim of determining the seroprevalence of TTI in healthy blood donors in a tertiary care blood bank.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study was carried out over a period of 5 years from January 2007 to December 2011. Serum samples were screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Type 1 and 2, hepatitis c virus (HCV) and syphilis using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays with the third generation kits and venereal disease research laboratory test, respectively.

Results: A total of 76,653 healthy donors were included out of which majority of donors were male (91.79%). The overall seroprevalence of HIV, HBsAg, HCV, and syphilis were 0.26%, 1.30%, 0.25%, and 0.28%, respectively.

Conclusion: Methods to ensure a safety blood supply should be encouraged. For that, screening with a better selection of donors and use of sensitive screening tests including nucleic acid testing technology should be implemented.