Environmental pollutants in blood donors: The multicentre Norwegian donor study

Abstract

Objectives The aim of this study was to measure blood concentrations of environmental pollutants in Norwegian donors and evaluate the risk of pollutant exposure through blood transfusions. Background Transfused blood may be a potential source of exposure to heavy metals and organic pollutants and presents a risk to vulnerable patient groups such as premature infants. Methods/Materials Donors were randomly recruited from three Norwegian blood banks: in Bergen, Tromsø and Kirkenes. Selected heavy metals were measured in whole blood using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS), and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were measured in serum by ultrahigh‐pressure liquid chromatography coupled with a triple‐quadrupole mass spectrometer (UHPLC‐MS/MS). Results Almost 18% of blood donors had lead concentrations over the limit suggested for transfusions in premature infants (0.09 μmol/L). About 11% of all donors had mercury concentrations over the suggested limit of 23.7 nmol/L. Cadmium was higher than the limit, 16 nmol/L, in 4% of donors. Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) concentrations were over the suggested limit of 0.91 ng/mL in 68% and 100% of the donors, respectively. PFAS concentrations and heavy metal concentrations increased with donor's age. Conclusion A considerable percentage of donors had lead, PFOS and PFOA concentrations over the suggested limits. In addition, at each study site, there were donors with high mercury and cadmium concentrations. Selecting young donors for transfusions or measurements of pollutants in donor blood may be a feasible approach to avoid exposure through blood transfusions to vulnerable groups of patients such as premature infants.

Benthic Microbial Communities in a Seasonally Ice-Covered Sub-Arctic River (Pasvik River, Norway) Are Shaped by Site-Specific Environmental Conditions

“…Previous studies have mostly highlighted the influence of local heavy metal inputs (mainly Ni, Cu, Cd, Cr, Zn, As, Hg) into the sediment and biota of the Pasvik area [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), with well-known cancerogenic and mutagenic effects on organisms, have received less attention [ 11 ].…”

Method Validation for Quantification of PFOS and PFOA in Human Plasma and a Pilot Study in Blood Donors from Thai Red Cross Society

“…Both compounds were also extensively reported in plasma or serum from residences in China, especially the industrialized cities, for instance, Shenyang (up to 64.78 ng/mL for PFOS and 135.14 ng/mL for PFOA) and Guangzhou (up to 352.24 ng/mL for PFOS and 10.06 ng/mL for PFOA) [16,27], as the country is now the world's largest PFAS producer [28]. [20,24,27,[29][30][31].…”

Reducing the risk of environmental pollutants for preterm infants through blood transfusions

“…In Averina et al's striking findings, lead and cadmium levels in donor pRBC units increased 2% and mercury levels increased 3% for every 1-year increase in age. 1 In another study, gender and age were found to be independent risk factors for blood lead concentration. 6 In addition, asking donors for demographics, occupation, smoking, alcohol consumption, living area, nutritional habits and other risk factors may be decisive when deciding on blood transfusions in premature infants.…”

“…Mercury and lead concentrations were higher than the upper limits for preterm infants in 10.5% and 17.9% of the donors' blood, respectively, based on these estimations. 1 We have also conducted a clinical trial that aimed to determine pre-and post-transfusion erythrocyte lead and mercury levels in premature infants, correlated with the mercury and lead concentrations in packet red blood cell (pRBC) units. In order to facilitate a comparison, we provided the same lead and mercury thresholds used in the study of Averina et al In our study, 27% of pRBC units were above the reference limits for mercury, and 22% of pRBC were above the reference limits for lead.…”