Journal of Disease and Global Health

Background: Blood transfusion saves millions of lives worldwide. However, in the absence of proper pre-transfusion testing, it can prove to be a health hazard. Transfusion transmitted diseases are one among the hazards of blood transfusion. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and Syphilis are the important transfusion transmitted diseases. It is estimated that with every unit of blood transfused, there is 1% risk of transfusion transmitted diseases.

Aim: To analyse the prevalence of selected transfusion-transmitted infections (HIV, HBV, HCV and Syphilis)   among blood donors at a tertiary care hospital.

Methodology: This was a 5 years retrospective study between the period January, 2010 to February, 2014 at Osmania General Hospital Blood bank. After following strict donor selection criteria, blood was collected and screened for HIV, HBV, HCV and Syphilis.

Results: 21915 donor records were studied which included 20190 (92.13%) replacement donors and 1725 (7.87%) voluntary donors. Majority of donors were in the age group of 21–30 years. Seropositivity for TTIs was found in 480 (2.19%) cases. There were 298 (1.36%) cases of HBV, 114 (0.52%) cases of HIV, 66 (0.3%) cases of HCV and 2(0.009%) cases of Syphilis.

Conclusion: A well structured blood transfusion service remains a cornerstone of effective health care system. It can be achieved by meticulous pretransfusion testing for these common infective diseases, judicious use of blood, development of sensitive diagnostic assays and promotion of voluntary donations.