European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Introduction: A transfusion transmissible infection (TTI) is any infection that is transmissible from person-to-person through parenteral administration of blood or blood products i.e., packed red blood cells (RBC), platelets, plasma and other blood products. This study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of transfusion transmissible infections among blood donors in blood banks connected to a tertiary care hospital and evaluate the safety of the blood donations. Material & Methods: A total sample of 22,760 which includes voluntary and replacement donors from January 2019 to December 2022 were taken. All the donors who were accepted for donation as per criteria were included in the study. Consent was obtained from blood donors to conduct testing for transfusion transmitted diseases. Donors were screened by 4th generation enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test kits for HIV-1/2, 3rd generation ELISA test kits for HBsAg and hepatitis C virus (HCV)and rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test for syphilis. Test for malaria was done prior to donation by rapid immunochromatographic test. Tests were performed as per manufacturer instructions. All the reactive samples were discarded as per the guidelines. Result: Among 22,760 donors, 930 (4.09%) were replacement donations and 21830 (95.91%)  were voluntary donations. Among replacement units, 3  donors (0.32%) were seropositive for the HIV infection, 32 donors ( 3.44%) were seropositive for HBV infections.  4 donors (0.43%) were seropositive for HCV infections and 2 donors (0.22%) were positive for VDRL. Among voluntary blood donor blood units, 55 donors (0.25%) were seropositive for HIV infections, 377 donors (1.72%) were seropositive for HBV infections 47 donors (0.22%) were seropositive for HCV infections, 36 donors (0.16%)  were seropositive for VDRL infection. Conclusion: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the most common transfusion transmissible infection among apparently healthy donors, followed by HIV and syphilis. TTI’s can be eliminated or reduced by implementing an integrated strategy for blood safety, like effective selection of blood donors, avoiding unnecessary transfusions, and early detection of TTI.