Gap Analysis in Notification and Follow-Up Counseling of TTI Reactive Blood Donors

Objective: A very important and efficient method of curtailing transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs) is notifying and counseling the TTI reactive donors. Donor notification and counseling protects the health of the donor and also helps in preventing secondary transmission of infectious diseases. Methods: A total of 13,972 donations were screened for TTI, namely human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and syphilis by serology. All TTI reactive donors were notified of their status by telephone or letter and called for follow-up counseling in person and referral for treatment. Results: Out of 13,972 blood donors who were screened for TTI, 151 (1.08%) blood donors had reactive screening tests. The prevalence of HIV, HBV, HCV, Syphilis were 0.07% (9), 0.64 % (90), 0.15% (21), 0.22% (31) respectively. The overall response rate of donors with reactive screening tests was comparatively high i.e. 80.1%. (131 out of 151 reactive donors). Around 61 (50.4%) of counseled reactive donors revealed history of high‑risk behavior/factors which were not disclosed during donor registration and screening. Conclusion: Donors conceal their high‑risk behaviors and continue to donate blood being not aware of the consequences of their blood donation. Detailed predonation education and counseling should be a part of the process of donor selection and privacy should be maintained to gain donor confidence. Notification of positive results should be made mandatory and uniform national guidelines for the notification of reactive blood donors should be formulated. Proper follow-up counseling of reactive donors should be done and TTI response rate should be monitored.