P-21 Trends in Transfusion-Transmissible Infections Among Blood Donors between 2018–2022 at the National Blood Transfusion Service, Guyana

Methods: This study is a retrospective, cross-sectional study analysed data from blood donors at the National Blood Transfusion Centre, Georgetown, Guyana from the years 2018–2022. The blood donations were screened for HBV, HCV, HIV, HTLV, Syphilis and Chagas disease. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS v. 26. with the chi square test being used with p-value , 0.05= statistical significance.

Results: A total of 45,535 (M 17,757; F 27,778) blood donations were recorded for the study period. This study found 3,184 of seropositive cases of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) were documented over the 5-year period. The overall prevalence of TTIs during this 5-year period was 7.0%. Furthermore, the study found that the HBV (1.5%) had the highest prevalence, then HCV (1.4%) then Chagas (1.2%), Syphilis (1.0%), HIV (0.9%), HTLV (0.8%). The study also found that males had higher sero- positive rates for all TTI markers and that the prevalence decreased as age increased.

Conclusion: This study shows a high prevalence of HBV, HCV, Chagas, HIV, Syphilis and HTLV cases among blood donors in Guyana. This increase may indicate a similar trend in the general Guyanese population and there needs to be an active campaign to raise awareness of these diseases and promote screening, prevention and treatment of these. Additionally, TTIs were predominantly recorded in the youthful population and more studies are needed to unearth the reason for this. Finally, screening should be done on a country-wide scale to prevent the complications of these infections before they become major public health crises.