FREQUENCY OF TRANSFUSION-TRANSMISSIBLE INFECTIOUS DISEASES AMONG BLOOD DONORS AT AKHTER SAEED TRUST HOSPITAL LAHORE, PAKISTAN

Background: Blood transfusion is an essential lifesaving treatment. The unsafe blood transfusion practices are one of the reasons of spreading transfusion-transmissible infections among individuals. It is necessary to screen the all donated blood units for HBV, HCV, HIV, VDRL, and MP. Aims: This aim of this study was to evaluate the burden of transfusion-transmissible infectious diseases caused by blood transfusions among donors. Materials & Methodology: It was a prospective observational study which included the 9114 blood donors who attended the Akhtar Saeed Trust Hospital Lahore from January 2020 to September 2022. The informed consent was taken from all blood donors. 3-5 ml of venous sample was drawn by using aseptic technique from blood donors on enrollment. Screening of blood donors was done by Chemiluminescence immunoassay (Maglumi-800) for HBV, HCV, HIV and VDRL. The MP was confirmed by peripheral blood picture on slide. According to the automation kit manufacturer’s guidelines, cut-off value for reporting positive results of HBV, HCV, HIV and VDRL was calculated. Data was analyzed by using SPSS version 25.0. Results: The mean age was 27.79 + 12.1 years. The numbers of volunteer and replacement donors were 961 (10.54%) and 8153 (89.45%) respectively. The total numbers of positive donors for transfusion transmissible infectious diseases were 591/9114 (6.49%). The seropositivity was found to be 170/9114 (1.86%) for HBV, 324/9114 (3.55%) for HCV, 33/9114 (0.36%) for HIV, 64/9114 (0.70%) for VDRL, and 0/9114 (0.0%) for MP respectively. Conclusion: There is currently a low risk of transfusion transmissible infectious diseases but the availability of safe blood is contingent on screening tests and appropriate donor selection.