Response Patterns and Behavior of Seropositive Blood Donors: A Comprehensive Analysis

Area of Science:

• Transfusion Medicine
• Public Health
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Blood transfusion services are essential for patient care.
• Identifying and managing seropositive blood donors is critical for transfusion safety.
• Understanding donor response to notification and counseling is key to improving practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the response rate of blood donors reactive for transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs).
• To analyze patterns of donor response to post-donation notification, follow-up, and counseling.
• To understand reactive blood donors' attitudes towards essential follow-up procedures.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective audit of 24 months of data (October 2021-October 2023).
• Screening of all donations for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, malaria, and syphilis.
• Analysis of donor response rates and reasons for non-communication or non-compliance.

Main Results:

• 1.41% (117/8,276) of donations were reactive for TTIs.
• Hepatitis B showed the highest prevalence (0.61%), followed by hepatitis C (0.38%), HIV (0.22%), and syphilis (0.14%).
• 70% of reactive donors responded to communication, 48.7% attended follow-up; fabricated addresses and donor schedules were major barriers.

Conclusions:

• Informing donors of serological status and providing counseling are crucial.
• Educating donors about TTIs during donation is important.
• Accurate demographic details are essential for effective donor follow-up and blood inventory management.