Evaluation Of The Nutritive Quality Of Foods Consumed By Blood Donors At Brazzaville.

: Studies conducted nowadays in Congo on the basis of surveys allow to provide guidance on a possible food improvement of Congolese. The aim of this work is to contribute to the improvement of transfusion safety according to eating habits. More specifically: to assess the frequency of consumption of local foods; to determine the BMI and evaluate the nutritional quality of the foods consumed by blood donors. This is a prospective study including 70 regular and consenting blood donors during the period from March to August 2012 in Brazzaville (Congo). All of these donors underwent anthropometric examination and questioning on eating habits. The average age of donors included is 40.22 ± 11.03 years with extremes of 20 to 64 years. The sex ratio is 3.37 in favor of the male sex.  The food survey showed that, apart from the rich-carbohydrate staples that are frequently consumed, foods rich in protein and micronutrients are less consumed. At the level of nutritional status, a weight and moderate deficiency is noticed in 7.1% of cases. We also noticed a prevalence of malnutrition at 9.9%. The dietary survey among donors underlines with regard to the daily basic diet, hypocaloric contributions, hypo-protein and micronutrient deficiencies. Further studies are needed to genuinely assess the energy and protein content of foods consumed. Also, nutrition education sessions should follow to help improve the diet of blood donors in Congo.