The Risk of HIV Infection and Safe Donor Recruitment and Retention Program in Chiangrai

Abstract

Abstract: The primary function of blood centers is to ensure adequacy and safety of blood supply. The blood safety can be jeopardized by several factors including the risk of transfusion-associated infectious diseases particularly infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Despite very highly sensitive tests for anti-HIV antibody, the risk of transfusion-associated HIV infection stil remains. Most of the residual nsk occurs when transfusion is done during the HIV-seronegative window period. This study is to determine the HIV infection risk in a blood bank in Chiangrai and to describe its safe donor recruitment and retention program as the main measure to reduce thewindow-period risk of transfusion-associated HIVinfection. Ten years of data (1989-1996) from the provincial hospital blood bank were entered and validated. A retrospective cohort of repeat donors
was identified and HIV incidence rates were calculated. Program activities were also studied. The window-period risk of HIV infection is about 130:1 per 100,000 donations (95% confidence interval 115.1-146:5). HIVincidence declines steadily as the number of donations increases. Over the study period, it can be shown that the number of sites which were regularly scheduled (i.e. 3 or 4 donation visits in a year) for donation visits increased significantly and was inversely related with the declining prevalence rates. It is likely that the recruitment and retention of safe blood donors has been a major factor in reducing the transfusion-associated HIV infection risk during the seronegative window period.