Malaria positivity among blood donors: an important index to assess blood safety

Blood transfusions carry the potential for causing increased morbidity & mortality both in terms of transfusion reactions as well as transfusion transmitted infections. It is therefore mandatory to test for transfusion transmitted diseases before any unit is transfused to a patient. In India it is mandatory to screen all units for HIV, HBsAg, HCV, Syphilis and Malaria. This study was done to study the incidence of malaria among blood donors at the blood bank of a tertiary care centre of Uttarakhand, India over a period of 2 years and also to analyse any associated factors. Any sample found positive was retested for confirmation by blood smear examination & using another kit. A total of 17,209 donors donated blood over a 2 year period and 14 donors (0.08 %) were found to test positive for malaria parasite. Only one case was a voluntary donor and the remaining 13 were replacement donors. It was seen that there was a peak in the months of September and October.