Prevalence of HIV among blood donors at Beni-Suef University Hospital Blood Bank, Egypt

Background The prevalence rate of HIV among blood donors differs between countries and regions. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HIV among blood donors in the Blood Bank of Beni-Suef University Hospital, Egypt, during the 5 years 2010-2014. Materials and methods This is a retrospective, record-based study that involved the abstraction of data of all donors from registers at the Beni-Suef University Hospital Blood Bank during the period 2010-2014. Data were transformed onto data sheets and entered into a computer database. Results Of the 26 442 blood donors, 24733 (93.5%) were male and 1709 (6.5%) were female. The mean age for the whole group was 29.88 +/- 7.6 (range = 18-65) years. The prevalence of HIV was 0.1% (14 donors); of them, there were 13 (92.9%) male donors and one (7.1%) female donor, but this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.9). More than 50% (57.1%) of HIV-positive patients (8/14) were between 20 and 29 years of age and four (28.6%) were between 30 and 39 years of age, with no statistically significant difference (P = 0.08). There were HIV-HCV coinfections in two donors (14.3%) (P = 0.5). The highest percentage (35.7%) of HIV-positive donors (five donors) were of blood group B, with no significant difference (P = 0.2). Conclusion and recommendations The prevalence of HIV was low (0.1%) among blood donors in Beni-Suef, Egypt, with no significant differences for age or sex. The incidence of HIV-HCV coinfection was 14.3%. We recommend strengthening of the healthcare system by improving the screening facilities for HIV and other transfusion-transmissible infections.