Evaluation of the Seroprevalence of Transfusion Transmissible Infections among Blood Donors in a Tertiary Care Hospital of North India

Background: Unsafe transfusion practices put patients at high risk of transfusion transmissible infections. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of transfusion transmissible infections (including Human Immunodeficiency Virus [HIV] 1 and 2, Hepatitis B Virus [HBV], Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and syphilis) during a period of 18 months among blood donors in the Blood Bank of Lady Hardinge Medical College.  Methods: The prevalence of markers of HIV, HBV, HCV and syphilis was evaluated among blood donors from January 2013 to June 2014. All donors who came to donate blood in the blood bank as well as voluntary donors who donated in the outreach blood donation camps were included in the study. Results: 15713 donations were received. The overall seroprevalance of HIV, HBV, HCV and syphilis was 0.2%, 1.54%, 0.49%, and 1.45%, respectively. The seroprevalence of HBV, HCV and syphilis was 0.57%, 0.14%, and 0.53%, respectively amongst voluntary donors. Conclusion: transfusion transmissible infections were less common among voluntary donors than those among replacement donors. Awareness of the general population about voluntary blood donation should be created to minimize the chances of spreading transfusion transmitted infections.