Tertiary Care Blood Bank, Punjab

Introduction: Transfusion Transmissible infections (TTI’s) like Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, Syphilis, Malaria are major problems associated with blood transfusion practices. Because of their shared modes of transmission, co infection with HIV HBV, HCV is a significant occurrence, particularly in areas where these viruses are endemic and even amongst apparently healthy subjects like blood donors. In the present study we assessed the prevalence of co-infection with HIV/HBV/HCV/syphilis/malaria in an apparently healthy donor population over a period of 13 years (2001 2013). Materials and methods: In this retrospective study conducted in Blood Bank unit of department of Pathology, Sri Guru Ram Das Institute Of Medical Sciences and Research, Vallah, Amritsar, Punjab. 81574 apparently healthy donors (both voluntary and replacement) were assessed during the period between Jan 2001- Dec 2013. Results: In the present study, 2606 had serological evidence of of TTI’s. Majority of these 2598/2606 (98.97%) were monoinfected and 27/2606 (1.03 %) had multiple co infection. The most common combination was HBV& VDRL (8/27). Interestingly no case was recorded of HBV &HIV co-infection over a period of 13 years. Conclusion: Therefore, strict selection of blood donors with an emphasis on getting voluntary donors and comprehensive screening of donors blood for TTI’s coinfection needs to be studied on a larger scale for better understanding of the impact on clinical outcome and treatment response.