Prevalence of bacterial contamination in blood and blood products at the National Blood Service Zimbabwe.

INTRODUCTION Advances in screening for infections improve the safety of donated blood. Transfusion-related bacterial sepsis, although not established in Zimbabwe, stills makes bacterial contamination of blood clinically relevant. METHODOLOGY This cross-sectional study was conducted in Harare. Bacteriological and antibiotic susceptibility testing were done using standard methods. RESULTS Of the 196 samples analyzed, 6 (3.1%) were contaminated with bacteria. Platelets had a significantly high contamination rate compared to other blood products. Bacteria showed varying patterns of susceptibility to the antibiotics tested. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of bacterial contamination in blood products suggests that patients who receive blood products are at risk of developing infection.