DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2018.v06i05.031

Pages: 2024-2028

Supply of safe blood and blood components is a vital part of blood bank services. Transfusion Transmissible Infections (TTI) reactive donors are informed of their abnormal result and are requested to come to blood bank for counselling. Informed donors may not respond at all. The present study was undertaken to determine the response of blood donors after notification of their reactive status by telephone call.This a retrospective study conducted in the Department of Transfusion Medicine, in a tertiary care hospital, Hyderabad, South India over a period of one year. We have evaluated the response of TTI reactive donors after notification of their abnormal test results during the year 2017.A total annual blood donation of 18,624 units were collected from voluntary and replacement donors and were subjected to routine TTI screening during the study period. Among these, 416 (2.23%) donors were found to be seroreactive for TTI. 56 cases were HIV positive, 236 donors were reactive for HBsAg, 75 donors were HCV positive, 48 were VDRL positive and 1 donor was malaria positive. 252 donors (60.57 %) were in the age group of 26-35 years. 230 donors (55.28 %) were contacted telephonically and 186 donors (44.72 %) could not be contacted as either their number could not be reached or switched off. Among the contacted, 178 donors (77.39 %) responded by attending the counselling in the blood bank.Donor notification and counselling is an important tool in minimising the risk of TTIs. Blood bank staff should be alert and take necessary precautions as per the guidelines in dealing with blood in the blood bank as some of the reactive donors wantedly donate blood.