The importance of hemovigilance in the transmission of infectious diseases

BACKGROUND Hemovigilance is an organized system of surveillance throughout the transfusion chain intended to evaluate information in order to prevent the appearance or recurrence of adverse reactions related to the use of blood products. OBJECTIVE The aims of this study were to assess the late reporting of incidents related to possible seroconversion in respect to age, marital status and ethnical background, annual variations in late reporting, the number of reports opened and closed, seroconversion of donors and transfusions of blood products within the window period. METHODS This retrospective, descriptive study used data on blood donations in the blood bank in Uberaba during the period from 2004 to 2011. Some socio-epidemiological characteristics of the donors and serology test results of donors and recipients were analyzed in respect to the late reporting of incidents related to possible seroconversion. The Chi-square test, odds ratio and a regression model were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS From 2004 to 2011, the blood bank in Uberaba collected 117,857 blood bags, 284 (0.24%) of which were investigated for late reported incidents. The profile of the donors was less than 29 years old, unmarried and non-Whites. Differences in age (p-value < 0.0001), marital status (p-value = 0.0002) and ethnical background (p-value < 0.0001) were found to be statistically significant. There was no statistical difference between men and women (0.24% and 0.23% respectively; p-value = 0.951). The number of late reported incidents increased until 2008 followed by a downward trend until 2011. There were twelve cases of seroconversion in subsequent donations (seven human immunodeficiency virus, four hepatitis B and one hepatitis C) with proven human immunodeficiency virus infection after screening of only one recipient. CONCLUSION The twelve cases of seroconversion in donors with subsequent infection proven in one recipient underscores the importance of this tool to increase transfusion safety.