Prevalence of Transfusion-Transmitted Infections in Blood Donors in a Tertiary Health Care Centre of North India

Siwangini Munrit, Praveen Prakash, Shubham Kumar Sharma, Shilpa Tomar, Rashmi Gautam, Neha Suman
Author(s)
1Junior Resident, Department of Pathology, Saraswathi Institute of Medical Sciences, Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, India. 2Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Saraswathi Institute of Medical Sciences, Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, India. 3Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Saraswathi Institute of Medical Sciences, Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, India. 4Professor, Department of Pathology, Saraswathi Institute of Medical Sciences, Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, India. 5Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, India

Abstract

Background: Blood is an intrinsic requirement for health care and blood transfusion provides essential support for patients in critical care. However, transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) such as HIV, HCV, HBV, syphilis and malaria can be transmitted through contaminated blood or blood products which requires rigorous screening for TTIs. The aim & objective are to assess the prevalence of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) in blood donors 2. To evaluate the association between blood groups and TTIs in a tertiary health care centre of North India. Material and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted from 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025 at a tertiary health care centre in the district of Hapur. The results of serologic markers for TTIs (HBsAg, anti-HCV, anti-HIV, syphilis and malaria) of all blood donors were collected from departmental records. Data was entered in Microsoft excel sheet and prevalence was expressed in percentage. For association between TTIs and blood groups, Chi square test was applied by using SPSS software (Version-29). p-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: A total of 1,412 blood donors were included in the study. Out of these, 104 (7.37%) donors tested positive for TTIs. The prevalence of HCV, HBV, and syphilis was 58 (4.1%), 45 (3.19%), and 1 (0.07%), respectively. No cases of HIV or malaria were detected. A statistically significant association was observed between syphilis infection and the Rh blood group (p = 0.001). The study also confirmed that blood group B was the most common among the ABO blood groups in the donor population. Conclusion: Relatively high prevalence of TTIs among blood donors especially, HCV and HBV were found in the present study. However, no significant association was found between ABO blood groups and TTIs. Rh factor was seen significantly associated with syphilis among the blood donors. Awareness programme, strengthening donor screening and testing along with preventive strategies are essential to reduce TTIs.

Keywords: Blood donors, Blood groups, Transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs).

Outline