How safe are our safe donors?

One of the greatest challenges of transfusion medicine is the prevention of transmission of infectious diseases through blood transfusion. The aim of this study is to present the current status of transfusion transmitted diseases among healthy unpaid blood donors so as to heighten the awareness of the complications of blood transfusion and make usmore vigilant with regard to the specifics of blood collection and testing as well as judicious use of blood. 8617 donors donated at St. Johns Medical College Hospital Blood bank from 1st. September 1997 to 31st August 1998. The tests done on all units included testing for HIV 1&2, HBsAg, HCV, VDRL and malarial parasites. The seropositivity among donors for HIV was 0.44%, for HBsAg 1.86%, for HCV 1.02% and for VDRL 1.6% No MP Positives were picked up in the study period. The focus has been on HIV so far. We have found the magnitude of hepatitis to be far more than that of HIV. Hence testing for HCV routinely is recommended.