Prevalence and association of transfusion-transmissible infections with age of blood donors: A regional transfusion centre study in northern pakistan

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and association of Transfusion-Transmissible Infections (TTIs) with age of blood donors in a regional transfusion centre located in Northern Pakistan. Study Design: Descriptive study. Place and Duration of the Study: Armed Forces Institute of Transfusion, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from January 2017 to December 2021. Methodology: All blood donors who qualified institutional blood donation criteria were initially screened for HBsAg, Anti-HCV Ab, HIV antigen-antibody combination and syphilis by an automated chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay analyzer (Architect Plus i 2000 SR, Abbott Diagnostics, Abbott Park, IL). Initially, all seronegative donor blood samples were subjected to nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT). All TTI-positive donors were immediately informed and counselled to consult the medical physicians for further treatment. Descriptive statistics and significance of association were determined. Results: The prevalence of TTIs among blood donors was calculated to be 3.33% among 308,767 donors. HCV (1.4%) was the most prevalent TTI followed by syphilis (0.9%), HBV (0.68%) and HIV (0.26%), respectively. TTIs were most prevalent in the 26 to 35-year-old group, accounting for 5,143 (50.0%) positive donors (p<0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of TTIs among blood donors was found to be 3.33%. HCV was the most common TTI, followed by syphilis, HBV, and HIV. The 26 to 35 year-old group had a significantly high prevalence of TTIs. (author)