Prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections among blood donors in Port Sudan

Background Transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) are life-threatening for patients requiring blood transfusion. The prevalence of these blood-borne infections among blood donors may reflect the burden of these diseases among populations in developing countries. Unsafe blood transfusion remains a major global health problem; therefore, TTIs are an important issue in transfusion medicine.Patients and methods A cross-sectional study was undertaken during March 2017 to June 2017 to focus on the magnitude of blood-borne infections among blood donors at Port Sudan Central Blood Bank and to assess the characteristics of reactive and nonreactive blood donors as well as association between coinfection and blood types. A total of 513 donors were encountered, and each blood donor was screened for HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and syphilis immunologically.Results A total of 513 blood donors were enrolled in this study. Of these, 501 (97.7%) were males and 12 (2.3%) were females, with mean age of 32 +/- 9.7 years (range: 17-60 years); all of them are replacement blood donors. Overall, 103 (20.1%) blood donors were reactive, with 97 (18.9%) reactive for one blood-borne infection and six (1.1%) coinfected with two of the four TTIs. The prevalence of HBV, HCV, HIV, and syphilis accounts for 11.7, 0.4, 1.4, and 6.6%, respectively. Six (1.1%) of the study blood donors were coinfected: four (0.8%) with HBV-syphilis and two (0.4%) with HBV-HIV.Conclusion TTIs is outstretched among the blood donors and have increased significantly over time. Stringent selection of blood donors is highly recommended to emphasize the safety of blood to the recipient. However, switch to central blood transfusion service rather than replacement donation may help to reduce the dangerous effect of TTIs.