International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | December 2018 | Vol 5 | Issue 12 Page 5031 International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health Alcantara JC et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2018 Dec;5(12):5031-5035 http://www.ijcmph.com pISSN 2394-6032 | eISSN 2394-6040 Original Research Article Seroprevalence and trends of markers of transfusion transmissible infections among blood donors: a 3-year hospital based-study Jerold C. Alcantara 1 *, Farhan Khalaf M. Alenezi 2 , Omar Hafiz Haj Ali 1 INTRODUCTION One of the most essential procedures in the health care delivery at present scenario is the transfusion of blood and its components. However, unsafe donated bloods persist due to either unscreened blood unit from major transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) or quality system not in place in the screening. The WHO Global Database on Blood Safety, according to the data given from 164 countries, shows an annual collection of more than 92 million blood donations. Of these, discarded units reach approximately 1.6 million due to presence of infectious markers for TTIs. 1 In another data on blood safety indicators provided by ministries of health in 2007, only 71 from 155 countries that said to perform 100% HIV screening, screens in a quality-assured manner. 2 In Saudi Arabia, prevalence of HBsAg among blood donors differs from each region with an average that ranges from 2.7% to 9.8%. 3-7 For HCV, the overall ABSTRACT Background: Evaluating the trends and rates of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) among blood donors ensure that supplies of blood are safe and a proficient donor screening is in place. Hence, the study assessed the prevalence and trends of TTI markers among blood donors in Hail, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A retrospective review was done using donor records in a 3-year period from January 2013 to December 2015. All samples underwent to mandatory serological screening. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used appropriately. Distribution tables were developed to discern the trends that exist and compare the prevalence rates among different age groups. Significant level was set at 5% (p<0.05). Results: Of the 11,162 blood donors evaluated, 1.5% was found positive for TTI markers. The overall prevalence of HBV, HCV, HTLV I/II, syphilis and malaria were 1.2, 0.04, 0.07, 0.2 and 0.02%, respectively. No blood donor showed positive for HIV markers. Majority of the infections were evident among replacement donors (57.3%). Greater number was observed from the age group of 30-39 years. Statistically, there was no significant difference among the various age groups. Conclusions: The prevalence rate of TTIs in this study is comparably lower than in other regions of Saudi Arabia and some countries, with no significant variation among the different age groups. HBV continues to be the highest rate of infections inflicting blood donors. Methods to improve donor retention, encouragement and recruitment of new donors have to be identified. Keywords: Transfusion-transmitted infections, Blood donors, Prevalence, Trends, Saudi Arabia 1 Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Hail, Saudi Arabia 2 Blood Bank, Hail Regional Laboratory, Saudi Arabia Received: 11 September 2018 Revised: 11 October 2018 Accepted: 26 October 2018 *Correspondence: Dr. Jerold C. Alcantara, E-mail: j.alcantara@uoh.edu.sa Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20184773