A novel rapid and effective donor arm disinfection method

Area of Science:

• Medical Microbiology
• Blood Transfusion Safety

Background:

• Current blood donor arm disinfection methods, like the 2-minute iodine-alcohol technique (IATI), can increase donor waiting times.
• A need exists for a faster disinfection protocol without compromising efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a rapid donor arm disinfection technique.
• To achieve disinfection efficacy comparable to the established IATI method.

Main Methods:

• Bacterial enumeration using direct swabbing and plating before and after disinfection.
• Evaluation of seven different disinfection methods, including the IATI and chlorhexidine/alcohol applicator (CAA).

Main Results:

• The 1.5-mL chlorhexidine/alcohol applicator (CAA) method demonstrated equivalent disinfection efficacy (99.91% reduction) to the IATI method (99.89% reduction).
• The CAA procedure time was reduced to 1 minute, mitigating potential donor waiting time increases.

Conclusions:

• The 1.5-mL CAA disinfection method provides a rapid and effective solution for blood donor arm preparation.
• The CAA procedure was adopted by the English blood service in 2006 for all donations.