Characteristics of a donor population in western Venezuela

Abstract

To determine the characteristics of blood donors in western Venezuela, we collected data from 1983 to 1985 on 31,320 volunteer donors at the Blood Bank of the State of Zulia in Maracaibo. Fifty-nine percent of the donors were blood group O, 30 percent were group A, 9 percent were group B, and 2 percent were group AB. Most of the donors (93%) were Rh positive. One percent of donors had positive reactions to hepatitis B surface antigen, 3.15 percent for syphilis, 1.43 percent for antibodies to Trypanosoma cruzi, and 0.32 percent to human immunodeficiency virus antibodies. About one-half of the donors were between 18 and 30 years old, and only 10 percent were women. To determine if iron deficiency anemia was a cause for the small size of the female donor pool, we measured serum ferritin in 50 first-time female donors. Ten of these (20%) had serum ferritin values below normal, and the distribution of serum ferritin levels of all 50 was very similar to that reported for frequent donors in Europe and the United States, with a clustering of ferritin values between 10 and 70 ng per ml. The data indicate that blood donors in western Venezuela are markedly different from those in the United States and that iron supplementation may be indicated for female Venezuelan donors.

Epidemiology of viruses causing chronic hepatitis among populations from the Amazon Basin and related ecosystems

“…HBV and HDV prevalence rates in other ecological and cultural environments in the region (whether large cities or nearby rural communities) differ clearly from those described above (Table 2). Data obtained from such cities and rural areas in Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil (Aguiar et al, 2001;Blitz-Dorfman et al, 1994;Cabezas et al, 1994;Castro, 2000;de Márquez et al, 1993;Figueiredo et al, 2000;León et al, 1999;Konomi et al, 1999;Ljunggren et al, 1985;Ponce et al, 1994;Pujol et al, 1994;Weir-Medina et al, 1987) show prevalence of HBV infection similar to what is commonly found in any region with low endemicity. In surveys performed among non-selected individuals from some large urban areas like Bogotá, Caracas, Maracaibo, or Cochabamba, anti-HBc prevalence was close to that recorded among the general population of Madrid (Consejería de Salud, Comunidad de Madrid, 1995).…”