Blood Donor Screening: Experience from a Remote Part of North-East

Background: Transfusion of blood and blood products saves millions of lives across the world. Although pre-transfusion routine screening and testing are done, there is a substantial risk of transfusion-related problems, including transfusion-transmitted infections (TTI). The risk increases when the donor is in the asymptomatic period. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was done on 18,177 units of blood collected during six years of the study period at the Blood Centre, Diphu Medical College, Karbi Anglong, a remote hilly district of Assam, to evaluate the prevalence of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTI). Results: The total number of seropositive cases detected during the study period was 394 (2.16%), of which 157 donors (0.86%) were positive for HBsAg, 183 donors (1.00%) were positive for anti-HCV, 47 donors (0.25%) were positive for HIV, while 7 donors (0.03%) were positive for syphilis. No single case of malaria was detected in our study. Conclusion: Accurate estimates of the risks of TTI are essential for monitoring the safety of the blood supply and evaluating the efficacy of currently employed screening procedures. This will help reduce both morbidity and the development of chronic, life-threatening diseases in recipients, as well as the wastage of valuable resources. Strict donor criteria and the recruitment of non-remunerated voluntary blood donors can substantially reduce the risk of TTI.