title: Seroprevalence of transfusion transmissible infections among blood donors in western part of Turkey: a six-year study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The most frequently encountered complication of blood transfusion is transfusion transmissible infections. Screening of transfusion transmissible infections are for safe blood transfusions, the results provide a crude idea about seropositivity rates of regions.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present study aimed to investigate distributions of transfusion transmissible infection seroprevalences in years and according to gender through medical records, and to define the regional data, retrospectively.
  
  
  METHODS
  80.454 Blood donors, applied to our center between dates August 2004 and December 2010, were investigated by HBsAg, anti-HVC, anti-HIV ELISA (Abbott, AXSYM) and RPR methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 80.454 donors, 7.321 (9.1%) were females, 73.133 (90.0%) were males. Age range of donors was 18-64 years (mean 41 years). While 61.950 (77%) of donors were voluntary, 18.504 (23%) were familial/replacement donors. 1.405 units of blood out of 80.454 were disposed, because one of infection parameters was positive. 45 units (3.2%) of disposed blood were from females, the rest belonged to male donors (1.360 units; 96.8%). HBsAg was positive in 1.054 donors (1.31%), whereas positivities of anti-HCV, anti-HIV and RPR were 312 (0.38%), 2 (0.002%) and 39 (0.04%), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Seropositivity was determined in accordance with national data, but was at lower limits. Seropositivity rates in years differed, but neither regularly increases nor decrease was observed. When all positivities were investigated according to genders, positivity in HBsAg and VDRL tests were significantly high in male donors.
authors.affiliation: Blood Center, Ataturk Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey. Electronic address: berrinuzun@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Berrin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Uzun
authors.forename: Serdar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Güngör
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Demirci
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001782:Blood Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D046148:Donor Selection / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D065227:Transfusion Reaction; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Blood donors; Serological testing; Seropositivity; Transfusion transmissible infections