Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Virol. Mar 25, 2025; 14(1): 96098
Published online Mar 25, 2025. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v14.i1.96098
Prevalence of transfusion transmissible infections among various donor groups: A comparative analysis
Sanjay K Thakur, Anil K Sinha, Santosh K Sharma, Aarzoo Jahan, Dinesh K Negi, Ruchika Gupta, Sompal Singh
Sanjay K Thakur, Dinesh K Negi, Regional Blood Transfusion Centre, Hindu Rao Hospital and NDMC Medical College, North Delhi 110007, Delhi, India
Sanjay K Thakur, Anil K Sinha, Department of Zoology, Veer Kunwar Singh University, Ara 802301, Bihar, India
Santosh K Sharma, Department of Pathology, Hindu Rao Hospital and NDMC Medical College, North Delhi 110007, Delhi, India
Aarzoo Jahan, Sompal Singh, Regional Blood Transfusion Centre and Pathology, Hindu Rao Hospital and NDMC Medical College, North Delhi 110007, Delhi, India
Ruchika Gupta, Department of Cytopathology, ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, Noida 201301, Uttar Pradesh, India
Co-first authors: Sanjay K Thakur and Anil K Sinha.
Co-corresponding authors: Ruchika Gupta and Sompal Singh.
Author contributions: Thakur SK carried out the literature review, data collection, data analysis, and manuscript preparation; Thakur SK, Sinha AK, Gupta R and Singh S performed statistical analysis; Thakur SK, Sinha AK, Sharma SK, Negi DK, Gupta R and Singh S were responsible for the research design; all authors equally contributed to data processing, interpretation, writing, and revising the final text; all of the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Institutional review board statement: The present study received approval from the Institutional Ethical Review Committee of Hindu Rao Hospital and NDMC Medical College, Delhi, No: IEC/NDMC/2021/69. All participant blood donors provided informed consent for blood donation. Data used in the study included routine blood grouping and TTI screening test results from the blood bank inventory registers. As no additional blood samples were collected from donors for the study, separate informed consent was not required.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Data sharing statement: All study datasets are available from the corresponding author at sompalsingh@mcd.nic.in and co-corresponding author ruchika.gupta79@gov.in.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Sompal Singh, MD, Regional Blood Transfusion Centre and Pathology, Hindu Rao Hospital and NDMC Medical College, Malkaganj, North Delhi 110007, Delhi, India. sompalsingh@mcd.nic.in
Received: April 26, 2024
Revised: October 16, 2024
Accepted: November 13, 2024
Published online: March 25, 2025
Processing time: 215 Days and 9.4 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs) are illnesses spread through contaminated blood or blood products. In India, screening for TTIs such as hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-I/II, malaria, and syphilis is mandatory before blood transfusions. Worldwide, HCV, HBV, and HIV are the leading viruses causing mortality, affecting millions of people globally, including those with co-infections of HIV/HCV and HIV/HBV. Studies highlight the impact of TTIs on life expectancy and health risks, such as liver cirrhosis, cancer, and other diseases in individuals with chronic HBV. Globally, millions of blood donations take place annually, emphasizing the importance of maintaining blood safety.

AIM

To study the prevalence of TTIs, viz., HBV, HCV, HIV I/II, syphilis, and malaria parasite (MP), among different blood donor groups.

METHODS

The study assessed the prevalence of TTIs among different blood donor groups in Delhi, India. Groups included total donors, in-house donors, total camp donors, institutional camp donors, and community camp donors. Tests for HIV, HBV, and HCV were done using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, while syphilis was tested with rapid plasma reagins and MP rapid card methods. The prevalence of HBV, HCV, HIV, and syphilis, expressed as percentages. Differences in infection rates between the groups were analyzed using χ² tests and P-values (less than 0.05).

RESULTS

The study evaluated TTIs among 42158 blood donors in Delhi. The overall cumulative frequency of TTIs in total blood donors was 2.071%, and the frequencies of HBV, HCV, HIV-I/II, venereal disease research laboratory, and MP were 1.048%, 0.425%, 0.221%, 0.377%, and 0.0024%, respectively. In-house donors, representing 37656 donors, had the highest transfusion transmissible infection (TTI) prevalence at 2.167%. Among total camp donors (4502 donors), TTIs were identified in 1.266% of donors, while community camp donors (2439 donors) exhibited a prevalence of 1.558%. Institutional camp donors (2063 donors) had the lowest TTI prevalence at 0.921%. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in overall TTI prevalence, with total and in-house donors exhibiting higher rates compared to camp donors.

CONCLUSION

Ongoing monitoring and effective screening programs are essential for minimizing TTIs. Customizing blood safety measures for different donor groups and studying socio-economic-health factors is essential to improving blood safety.

Keywords: Blood donors; Transfusion transmissible infections; Hepatitis B virus; Human immunodeficiency virus; Hepatitis C virus; Malaria parasite; Syphilis

Core Tip: The study examined transfusion transmissible infection (TTI) among blood donors, assessing differences across groups: (1) In-house donors; (2) Total camp donors; (3) Institutional camp donors; and (4) Community camp donors. Findings revealed higher TTI prevalence in in-house donors (2.17%), followed by total donors (2.07%). Community camp donors and total camp donors had lower TTI rates at 1.56% and 1.27%, respectively, while institutional camp donors had the lowest rate at 0.92%. Statistical comparisons indicated significant differences in TTI prevalence between various groups.