Prevalence of HIV, hepatitis B and C infections among volunteer blood donors at the blood transfusion center of Ilam city, Iran

Introduction: Blood derived products have been known as an effective treatment for many years. However, this treatment is not without risk of infections transmission including hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immune-deficiency virus (HIV) in people who received the blood. Nevertheless, due to a high risk of blood born diseases through blood transfusion, screening for these viruses according to the World Health Organization (WHO) is mandatory. The main aim of this research was to assess the prevalence of HBV, HCV and HIV infections among healthy blood donors of Blood Donor Center of Ilam (BDCI). Materials and methods: In this study we used the information from first and repeated blood donors who referred to BDCI within February 2009 to January 2013. Demographic characteristics of donors including marital status, age, gender and blood donation pattern was extracted. Routine donor laboratory screening tests for HBV, HIV and HCV were performed. Results: HBV infection had the highest prevalence (0.14%) while HIV had the lowest ones (0.006%). The highest prevalence was among male blood donors. The prevalence of HBv, HIV and HCV infections were more common among men and first time donors (P < 0.01). The prevalence of HIV and HCV infections were more common among married donors than singe ones (P < 0.01) HBV prevalence in singles was more (P < 0.05) compared to married blood donors. The highest and the lowest subjects with HBV, HCV and HIV infections were in range of 51 to 60 years and 18-35 years old, respectively. Conclusion: It is estimated that the prevalence of HBV, HCV and HIV infections are low in voluntary blood donors than general population which confirmed the effectiveness of education and examination of blood donors. This usually arising from the pre donation screening for risky behaviors, so deleting the high risk people. Since unsafe blood products are not used for blood transfusion, they are not considered as risk for blood safety system, but identification of these blood units is a problem for blood transfusion centers.