Malaria Seroprevalence in the Blood Donors of Malaria Endemic Regions of Northern Andhra Pradesh, India.

Introduction: Transmission of malaria through blood transfusion continues to be a major threat tosafe blood transfusion practice. Transfusion-transmitted malaria occurs at an estimated rate of 0.25cases per 1 million blood units collected. It is significantly more common in endemic areas. Aim: Tostudy the Seroprevalence of Malaria among the blood donors in the endemic areas of NorthernAndhra Pradesh. Materials and methods: The present survey was carried out at the blood bank ofMaharaja institute of medical sciences, Vizianagaram. This includes the analysis of seroprevalence ofMalaria in the blood donors during the period of 1 year from February 2018 to January 2019. Two mlof the blood sample was collected in the labeled pilot tube at the time of collection of blood fromdonor tubing of the blood bag. The serum was separated. The samples were tested for Malaria byrapid antigen detection test. Results: Out of the total of 3096 blood donors, replacement donors(86.91%) were more in comparison to voluntary donors (13.08%). The seroprevalence among thereplacement blood donors was more compared to voluntary blood donors. Conclusion: Voluntaryblood donation, increasing awareness about blood donation in the general population, selection ofrepeat, non-remunerated, regular voluntary blood donors and diligent donor selection, sensitivescreening tests are most important to increase blood safety and prevent transmission of Malariathrough blood transfusion.