Seroprevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections among blood donors in a private hospital in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.

HR, Gudum and AJ, Chrisdyana and R, Nur Amirah and M, Saruveish and SP, Tay (2022) Seroprevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections among blood donors in a private hospital in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of Pathology, 44 (2). p. 343. ISSN 0126-8635

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Abstract

Introduction: Blood transfusion, an essential part of established medical practice, can save lives and improve health. However, it is not without risk as transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) remain a significant public health problem worldwide. Monitoring of TTI rates in blood donors and awareness of the changing trends are major safety initiatives. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence and trends of TTIs among blood donors in Normah Medical Specialist Centre (NMSC), Kuching, Sarawak. Materials and Methods: This was a 10-year retrospective study utilising blood donation records and data on donation testing for TTIs from January 2010 to December 2019. Results & Discussion: A total of 16,085 blood units were collected from 7329 blood donors (year 2010 to 2019). There were 353 donors tested reactive for TTIs, giving a seroprevalence of 4.81%. Majority of the reactive donors were male (87.3%), Malays (62.6%) and first time (73.9%) donors. HCV (2.69%) recorded the highest seroprevalence, followed by HBV (1.41%), HIV (0.42%) and syphilis (0.39%). Over the 10-year period, HBV and HCV showed decreasing trends of seroprevalence, whereas prevalence of HIV and syphilis appeared to be constantly low. Only 4.0% of reactive donors responded to the notification of their TTI positivity, and seroconversion rate of repeat donors was 36.9%. There was no significant difference of seroprevalence and response rate between first time and repeat donors. Conclusions: The overall prevalence of TTIs among blood donors in NMSC was relatively low, however, it is still substantial. The response rate of reactive donors towards notification was very poor.

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