SEROPREVALENCE OF TRANSFUSION TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS IN BLOOD DONORS AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH ABO AND RH BLOOD GROUPS.

Abstract

Background: A blood screening is a procedure that is mandatory in health care services to reduce the incidence of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTI). Numerous studies have found a correlation between ABO blood groups and a various infectious and non-infectious diseases. Some blood groups may even act as receptors and ligand for various infectious agent. Cross sectional observationalMaterials and Methods: study, conducted over a period of one & half years at Blood Centre and Component Lab, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Memorial Medical College, Amravati. Total 14515 healthy donors were collected and their blood samples were subjected to blood grouping and TTI testing. AmongResults: all the donors, B Positive was the most common blood group accounting for 4730 (32.59%) donors. Overall seropositivity for TTI was 236 (1.62%) cases. Seropositivity among replacement blood donors (16.25%) was more compared to voluntary blood donors (1.26%). Hepatitis B infection was most common (1.14%) infection among all TTIs. Maximum seropositivity was observed in A Positive blood group (1.99%) followed by B Positive (1.88%) blood group. Even though no signicant association betweenABO and Rh blood groups was observed with TTIs, Hepatitis BConclusion: was the most common infection found in blood donors. This high prevalence points towards the need for a comprehensive public health approach to eliminate TTI.