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Ameli MR, Hosseini SH, Rad F, Sajjadi SM. Evaluation of the confidential unit exclusion on Iranian blood donors: An 11-year experience. Asian J Transfus Sci 2021; 15:57-61. [PMID: 34349458 PMCID: PMC8294428 DOI: 10.4103/ajts.ajts_152_18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Accepted: 07/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Confidential unit exclusion (CUE) was recommended by the Food and Drug Administration to permit blood donors confidentially exclude their donation for transfusion. However, its effectiveness as a safety measure to the blood supply is debated. AIMS: We, therefore, evaluated its benefit in identifying donors at risk of transmitting transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) and increasing blood safety in our population. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional and retrospective study. The study was performed at the South Khorasan Blood Transfusion Center. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this descriptive and retrospective study, data of CUE use and data of confirmed positive TTI markers were analyzed for the study period 2006–2016. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 16. RESULTS: Out of 165,267 donations, the CUE option was selected by 493 (0.3%) donors, most frequently by first-time blood donors, by men, by donors with <12 years schooling, and by 18–24-year-old donors. The data revealed that donations from CUE donors had no higher infection rates. Moreover, CUE showed low sensitivity (0.6%) and low positive predictive value (0.6%) in detecting TTI markers. CONCLUSION: The data do not provide any indication of a safety advantage from CUE; thus, we recommend that the procedure of CUE can be discontinued.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Reza Ameli
- Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization Research Center, South Khorasan Blood Transfusion Service, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
| | | | - Fariba Rad
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, Yasuj, Iran
| | - Seyed Mehdi Sajjadi
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
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Niazkar HR, Dorgalaleh A, Rad F. First-time Blood Donors Are Double-edged Swords for Blood Transfusion Centers: A Retrospective Study in Southwest Iran. Turk J Haematol 2020; 37:30-35. [PMID: 31475800 PMCID: PMC7057759 DOI: 10.4274/tjh.galenos.2019.2019.0166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective: First-time blood donors are the most common group of blood donors. They usually have different motivations for blood donation, some of which provoke the donors to hide risk factors of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs). Therefore, detection of TTIs among first-time donors is crucial and can decrease the rate of TTIs among blood recipients. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of TTIs among first-time donors in the transfusion center of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province (KBTC), Iran. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted with volunteer blood donors in 2004-2014 in the KBTC. Various data, including sex, confidential unit exclusion (CUE), previous donation history, and the laboratory findings of confirmatory tests, were extracted from blood donor software. Data were analyzed by SPSS using the chi-square test. Results: Among 198,501 blood donors, 52,527 (26.46%) were first-time donors, while 145,974 donors (73.54%) were repeat and regular donors. Most of the donors (94.5%) were male, while a minority (5.5%) were female. The CUE option was chosen by 2,237 (1.13%) donors. The incidence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) was 247 (0.13%) and 134 (0.07%) among the entire study population, respectively. Three donors (0.002%) had confirmed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), while none of the blood donors were positive for syphilis. Most of the donors with positive HBsAg (95.8%), HCV (86.6%), and HIV (100%) infection were first-time donors. Conclusion: Since TTIs are more common among first-time blood donors than regular and repeat donors, special considerations should be taken into account for this common group of blood donors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamid Reza Niazkar
- Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Student Research Committee, Gonabad, Iran
| | - Akbar Dorgalaleh
- School of Allied Medical Science, Department of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Tehran, Iran
| | - Fariba Rad
- Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Yasuj, Iran,Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran
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Souza JC, Crispim MAE, Abrahim C, Fraiji NA, Kiesslich D, Stefani MMA. High rate of seromarkers for HIV, HBV and syphilis among blood donors using confidential unit exclusion, before and after HIV-NAT implementation at a major public blood bank in the Brazilian Amazon. Transfusion 2018; 59:629-638. [PMID: 30499594 DOI: 10.1111/trf.15045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2018] [Revised: 09/17/2018] [Accepted: 09/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Confidential unit exclusion (CUE) was introduced in the 1980's as an additional layer to blood safety, before highly specific and sensitive nucleic acid tests (NAT) for HIV were implemented. The utility of CUE-use in settings that have implemented NAT should be evaluated over time. STUDY DESIGN, METHODS Cross-sectional retrospective study carried out from June 2010-November 2015, at Manaus Hemocenter (HEMOAM), Amazonas, Brazil that implemented HIV-NAT in 2012. The HIV, HCV, HBV, HTLV, Chagas disease, and syphilis rates were compared among CUE and non-CUE blood donors, before and after HIV-NAT implementation. RESULTS Among 287,588 donations, 2,154 (0.75%) were associated with CUE, mainly voluntary donations (64.2%), by repeat donors (58.4%) from young (median age = 31 years), males (84.4%), unmarried (63.1%). CUE-users compared to non-CUE donors (n = 285,434) had higher seropositivity rates to HIV (OR = 6.09, 95% CI: 3.68-10.07, p < 0.001), HBV (anti-HBc OR = 1.81 95% CI: 1.24-2.64, p = 0.004; HBsAg OR = 5.68, 95% CI: 1.78-18.07, p = 0.017), and syphilis (OR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.05-3.04, p = 0.030). Most (97.2%) discarded blood units associated to CUE was seronegative for all pathogens. Most donations (73.4%) were tested by HIV-NAT and showed four window period donations, positive by HIV-NAT only among non-CUE donors. CONCLUSION A high rate of transfusion transmissible infections/TTIs was observed at HEMOAM especially in CUE-users. CUE-use offered an additional layer of blood safety by its association with anti-HBc/HBsAg and syphilis that are not covered by NAT. For blood banks in highly endemic areas for HIV and TTI, as HEMOAM, the identification of at risk donors, and the orientation to be tested at proper sites remain a great challenge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janaina C Souza
- Hematology and Hemotherapy Foundation, HEMOAM, Manaus, Brazil
| | | | - Claudia Abrahim
- Hematology and Hemotherapy Foundation, HEMOAM, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Nelson A Fraiji
- Hematology and Hemotherapy Foundation, HEMOAM, Manaus, Brazil
| | | | - Mariane M A Stefani
- Tropical Pathology and Public Health Institute, Federal University of Goias, Goiania, Brazil
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Importance of information provision in the acceptance of blood donation criteria by the general public in Belgium. BLOOD TRANSFUSION = TRASFUSIONE DEL SANGUE 2018; 16:475-482. [PMID: 29328906 DOI: 10.2450/2017.0151-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2017] [Accepted: 10/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Blood transfusions save lives, but carry the risk of causing transfusion-transmitted diseases. This risk is limited by strict donor selection criteria, the most controversial being the exclusion of men who had sex with men (MSM). This cross-sectional study investigated knowledge and beliefs of the general public concerning donor exclusion criteria, with emphasis on MSM. MATERIALS AND METHODS A representative sample of the population of Flanders, Belgium was questioned using a web-based questionnaire. The effect of additional information on people's opinions was tested. RESULTS People were less aware of the exclusion of MSM than of other risk populations, e.g. prostitutes. Correspondingly, they were more willing to accept blood from MSM than from other risk populations. MSM were also considered appropriate donors. Interestingly, prior knowledge about the exclusion of MSM appeared to be the strongest predictor for not accepting blood from MSM or a more stringent attitude on MSM exclusion. Receiving information on reasons for exclusion shifted opinions towards more stringency. Nevertheless, most people think that exceptions for MSM should be made under certain circumstances. This study identified several demographic factors associated with opinions concerning the exclusion of MSM for blood donation and the potential to change opinions after receiving information, e.g. age or socio-economic status. DISCUSSION Blood collecting services can gain understanding from the general public about their exclusion policies by providing clear information. Communication efforts targeting specific audiences in function of their knowledge and likeliness to change their opinion, might improve the effectiveness of information campaigns.
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van de Laar TJ, Van Gaever VA, Swieten PV, Muylaert A, Compernolle V, Zaaijer HL. Phylogenetic analysis reveals three distinct epidemiological profiles in Dutch and Flemish blood donors with hepatitis B virus infection. Virology 2018; 515:243-249. [PMID: 29324289 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2017.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2017] [Revised: 12/11/2017] [Accepted: 12/12/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
During 2006-2016, hepatitis B virus (HBV) was detected in nearly 400 blood donors in the Netherlands and Flanders. Donor demographics and self-reported risk factors as disclosed during the donor exit interview were compared to HBV phylogenies of donor and reference sequences. First-time donors with chronic HBV-infection were often immigrants (67%) infected with genetically highly diverse strains of genotypes A (32%), B (8%), C (6%), D (53%) and E to H (1%). Each subtype was strongly associated with donor ethnicity. In contrast, 57/62 (93%) of acute/recent HBV infections occurred among indigenous donors, of whom 67% was infected with one specific widely circulating epidemic HBV-A2 lineage. HBV typing identified three distinct epidemiological profiles: the import of chronic HBV infections through migration, longstanding transmission of non-epidemic HBV-A2 strains within western-Europe, and the active transmission of one epidemic HBV-A2 strain most likely fueled by sexual risk behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thijs J van de Laar
- Department op Blood-borne Infections, Sanquin Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | | | - Peter van Swieten
- Department op Blood-borne Infections, Sanquin Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - An Muylaert
- Blood Service, Belgian Red Cross-Flanders, Mechelen, Belgium
| | - Veerle Compernolle
- Blood Service, Belgian Red Cross-Flanders, Mechelen, Belgium; Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Hans L Zaaijer
- Department op Blood-borne Infections, Sanquin Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Medical Microbiology (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center / University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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van de Laar TJ, Bezemer D, van Laethem K, Vandewalle G, de Smet A, van Wijngaerden E, Claas EC, van Sighem AI, Vandamme AM, Compernolle V, Zaaijer HL. Phylogenetic evidence for underreporting of male-to-male sex among human immunodeficiency virus-infected donors in the Netherlands and Flanders. Transfusion 2017; 57:1235-1247. [PMID: 28375576 DOI: 10.1111/trf.14097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2016] [Revised: 12/14/2016] [Accepted: 01/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Separate transmission networks for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coexist. Molecular typing of viral genomes can provide insight in HIV transmission routes in donors for whom risk behavior-based donor selection failed. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS This study includes all HIV-infected Dutch and Flemish donors in the period 2005 to 2014 (n = 55). Part of the HIV polymerase (pol) gene was amplified, sequenced, and compared with more than 10,000 HIV strains obtained from HIV-infected Dutch and Flemish patients. The most likely transmission route was determined based on HIV phylogeny and the donor's self-reported risk behavior during the exit interview. RESULTS HIV-infected donors were predominantly male (69%), were repeat donors (73%), were born in the Netherlands or Belgium (95%), and harbored HIV Subtype B (68%). Seventy-five percent of HIV-infected male donors were part of robust phylogenetic clusters linked to male-to-male sex, while only 24% of HIV-infected male donors reported male-to-male sex during posttest counseling. Sex between men and women accounted for 13% of HIV infections in male donors and 93% of HIV infections in female donors based on phylogenetic analysis. Only 40% of HIV-infected female donors had HIV Subtype B; 65% of female donors reported a foreign partner and indeed HIV sequences interspersed with sequences from HIV-endemic areas abroad, in particular sub-Saharan Africa. CONCLUSION HIV typing helps to understand HIV transmission routes in donor populations. We found substantial underreporting of male-to-male sex among HIV-infected male donors. Donor education on HIV risk factors and the danger of window-period donations and a donor environment that encourages frank disclosure of sexual behavior will contribute to a decrease of HIV-infected donors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thijs J van de Laar
- Department of Blood-borne Infections, Sanquin Research, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Kristel van Laethem
- Laboratory for Clinical and Epidemiological Virology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, KU Leuven-Leuven University, Leuven, Belgium.,AIDS Reference Laboratory, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Annie de Smet
- Blood Service, Belgian Red Cross-Flanders, Mechelen, Belgium
| | - Eric van Wijngaerden
- AIDS Reference Center, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Laboratory for Clinical Infectious and Inflammatory Disorders, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, KU Leuven-Leuven University, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Eric C Claas
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands.,Department of Molecular Biology, MC Slotervaart, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Anne-Mieke Vandamme
- Laboratory for Clinical and Epidemiological Virology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, KU Leuven-Leuven University, Leuven, Belgium.,Center for Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Microbiology Unit, Institute for Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Veerle Compernolle
- Blood Service, Belgian Red Cross-Flanders, Mechelen, Belgium.,Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Hans L Zaaijer
- Department of Blood-borne Infections, Sanquin Research, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.,Department of Medical Microbiology (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center/University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Kasraian L, Karimi MH. A study on confidential unit exclusion at Shiraz Blood Transfusion Center, Iran. Asian J Transfus Sci 2016; 10:132-5. [PMID: 27605850 PMCID: PMC4993082 DOI: 10.4103/0973-6247.187939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Confidential unit exclusion (CUE) system has been designed to enhance transfusion safety as an extra additive approach. Aims: This study was designed to survey demographic characteristics, prevalence of serologic markers, and reasons of opting CUE. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study was performed at Shiraz Blood Transfusion Center (Southern Iran). CUE is used for all individuals who refer for blood donation, and donors can choose their blood not to be used if they have any doubt about their blood suitability for transfusion. The prevalence rate of HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) was compared between the blood donors who opted into and out of CUE. Then, the donors were contacted to give another blood sample and the reasons of deferral. Researchers also determined whether their reasons were logical or not. Data were analyzed using comparison of proportions in MedCalc software 7. Results: Out of all the donors, 2365 ones (2.3%) opted for CUE. CUE was more frequent among men, singles, donors with low education levels, between 18 and 25 years old, and with history of previous donation (P < 0.05). The prevalence rate of HCV was higher among the donors who opted for CUE (P < 0.05), but it was not the case regarding HBV and HIV (P>0.05). Furthermore, 91.5% of the donors had opted for CUE by mistake and only 8% had chosen CUE logically. Conclusion: It is necessary to review the process of CUE, make some changes both in procedure and design, and then survey its effectiveness in blood safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leila Kasraian
- Blood Transfusion Research Center, Higher Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Hossein Karimi
- Blood Transfusion Research Center, Higher Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran; Transplant Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran
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