Background
Estimation of residual risk (RR) is necessary to understand status of blood safety with current testing strategies and need to improve it further. These estimates from India are lacking till date. Present study was aimed to estimate RR and incident rate (IR) of transfusion transmitted infectious disease (TTIDs) in Indian setting.
Study Design and Methods
Blood donor demographic data, serological testing results and nucleic acid testing (NAT) screening results were collected retrospectively from January 2015 to June 2017. Mathematical modelling using NAT yield/window period model was done to estimate IR and RR of TTIDs. Data was compared between different groups based on age‐group, gender, donation repeatability and type of donor.
Results
A total 106 119 blood donors donated 109 441 units with overall TTID reactivity of 2.22%. HBV was most prevalent TTID (1.26%) with RR of 16.1 per million followed by HCV and HIV with RR of 4.4 and 3.1 per million donations, respectively. NAT testing variably reduced RR ranging from 69.4% to 96.1% depending on TTID. Younger, repeat and voluntary donors had significantly lower prevalence of TTIDs compared to older, first time and replacement donors.
Discussion
Gaps in the blood safety could be bridged significantly by implementing NAT testing and using quality serological assays. Comparatively high RR despite using quality serological assays and ID‐NAT testing highlights need to develop long term strategies to improve blood safety by focusing on improving donor pool by recruiting regular voluntary donors among youth and imparting knowledge of healthy practices.
Introduction
SARS-Coronavirus-2 pandemic has adversely affected blood supply as potential blood donors were afraid of acquiring infection in hospital settings. We aimed to compare COVID-19 seroprevalence among asymptomatic blood donors from healthcare and non-healthcare setting to analyse the difference in exposure level of each group as well as the risk of acquiring infection during the process of blood donation.
Material and Methods
Analysis of whole blood donors tested for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies was carried out after categorizing them into healthcare workers (HCW) and non-healthcare workers (NHCW). NHCW were further categorized into residents of containment and non-containment zones and seroprevalence analyzed. Seroprevalence among different ABO blood groups was also analyzed.
Results
1191 blood donors were tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies with 9.5% seropositivity. Significantly lower seropositivity of 3.2% (p < 0.001) was observed among HCW as compared to 10.9% seropositivity in NHCW. Among NHCW no difference in seropositivity was observed based on residence in containment or non-containment zone. Significantly higher (p = 0.012) seroprevalence was observed among A blood group donors (12.5%) as compared to O blood group donors (6.8%).
Conclusion
Results suggests that a blood donor, in a hospital setting is less likely to be exposed to COVID-19 disease than when participating in activities of daily living. It is postulated that the lower seroprevalence among HCW as compared to NHCW reflects differences in knowledge and practice of preventive measures among these groups. The findings should instil confidence among blood donors and motivate them to donate blood without fear.
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