Seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus among the blood donors in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background: Transfusion of blood and blood products although considered as a life saving treatment modality, but may lead to certain infectious and non-infectious complications in the recipients. Objectives: The purpose of this analysis was to monitor the seroprevalence of anti-HCV antibody in the blood donor population in a hospital based blood bank in Hyderabad. Methods: Relevant information of all the blood donors who donated whole blood at the department of Transfusion Medicine, of tertiary care hospital in Hyderabad from the January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2013 was retrieved from the departmental records. The number of donors who were found reactive for anti-HCV antibodies was calculated. Results: Of the total 21,451 blood donors, 20801 were males and 650 were females. The percentage of whole blood donors found seroreactive for anti-HCV antibodies was 0.28 percent. The seroprevalence of anti-HCV in male blood donors was 0.28 per cent and the seroprevalence in female blood donors was 0 percent. Maximum seroprevalence of anti-HCV was observed in the age group of 18 to 30 yr (0.41%) and the minimum in the age group of 51 to 60 yr (0.26%). Conclusion: HCV seroprevalence in our study was 0.28 per cent and a decreasing trend with age was observed. Since, no vaccine is presently available for immunization against HCV infection, transfusion transmitted HCV infection remains a potential threat to the safety of the blood supply.