Cellular and plasma-associated phagocytic defects amongst Iranian blood donors

Peripheral blood leucocytes from 30 grossly anaemic professional blood donors were investigated for phagocytosis, intracellular killing and chemotaxis. The nitro-blue tetrazolium test was positive in 29 donors and negative in 1. Professional donors' cells in the presence of normal plasma were unable to phagocytose successfully and Candida killing and opsonization were defective when donors' plasma was used in the presence of normal cells. Chemotaxis of professional donors' cells to Ag/Ab-treated normal plasma was reduced as was chemotactic activity of normal cells in both Ag/Ab- and LPS-treated professional donors' plasma.