Two decades of risk factors and transfusion‐transmissible infections in Dutch blood donors

Abstract

The prevalence and incidence of TTIs among Dutch blood donors are six- to 60-fold lower than in the general Dutch population, illustrating the effectiveness of donor selection procedures. However, at least a quarter of infected donors appeared noncompliant to the donor health questionnaire (DHQ), suggesting that DHQs, or the way donor questioning is implemented, can be improved.

Transfusion-transmissible infection surveillance among blood donors in Southwest Ethiopia: A six years retrospective study

“…To make available safe donated blood, the proper selection of donors and screening of donor's blood, together with continuous monitoring of TTI epidemiology in replacement and volunteer donors is crucial [15,16]. There is scarcity of comprehensive data on prevalence and trends of major TTI among blood donors in the study area.…”

Which Infectious Blood Donors Could Be Identified by the Donor History Questionnaire - Comparison of Blood Donors Infected with HIV or HCV with Notified Cases from General Population in Germany

“…Still, a varying percentage of donors are identified with HIV and HCV infections with deferrable risks that were not detected or reported in the donor selection process [1,5,13,14]. Comparison of risk factors among infected blood donors and infected individuals from the general population is only rarely used to assess the effectiveness of blood donor selection procedures.…”

“…Risk factors for transfusion-relevant infections were previously identified in the post-donation interview [1] or by comparing noninfected with infected donors [7,10]. In contrast, we aimed to assess to what degree the currently used pre-donation DHQs support the deferral of infected individuals by comparing transmission risks of donors with those of infected persons from the general population.…”

“…In the Netherlands, e.g., an approximately 20 times lower HCV prevalence and a 60 times lower HIV prevalence was observed in first-time donors compared to the general population. This was related to an effective selection process and responsible self-deferral [1]. In Australia, the HCV prevalence in first-time donors was at least 12 times lower compared to the general population and the HIV prevalence 140 times lower -probably due to a combination of donor education and donor selection [2].…”

Sexual acquisition of HIV infection after solid organ transplantation: Late presentation and potentially fatal complications

“…HIV infection through transfusion of contaminated blood components has been repeatedly documented since the first case reported in 1982, and has also been documented among organ transplant recipients, primarily in the 1980s and early 1990s . Since 1985, the adoption of strict measures for collecting, testing and processing blood components has resulted in a significant reduction in this route of transmission, now reported as residual risks of one per 8‐24 million donations …”