Prevalence of irregular antibodies in blood donors at Yaoundé Central Hospital, Cameroun

Abstract

Blood transfusion is a therapy that presents immunological risks due to the possible presence of irregular antibodies in donor or recipient blood. It is therefore recommended to reseaech irregular antibodies in both donors and recipients’ blood during pre-transfusional tests. Data relating to the search for irregular antibodies being scarce in our country, we carried out a cross-sectional descriptive study in blood donors at the Yaoundé central hospital. We recruited 200 blood donors on whose samples we performed blood grouping, screening for irregular antibodies and self-testing. Our study population consisted of 152 men and 48 women; the average age was 27.3 years. As a result, we found 4.5% alloantibodies and 0.5% autoantibodies, so an overall frequency of 5% in irregular antibodies in blood donors. This frequency of alloantibodies supports the systematisation of the Irregular Antibody Test (IAT) in blood banks.