Seroprevalence with epidemiological determinants of hepatitis C virus and Treponema pallidum infection in blood donors of a teaching hospital in southwest Punjab, India: A 5-year study.

Background: A high seroprevalence of various transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) in donated blood is the main safety concern, especially in low- and middle-income countries. As per the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation, all blood donations must be tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), Treponema pallidum infection, and malaria, which mainly comprises the major bulk of TTIs.

Aims: The purpose of this study is to observe the seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus and Treponema pallidum infection over the period of 5 years in blood donors of our blood center along with their epidemiological determinants with respect to age, sex, residence, occupation, and type of donors.

Analysis of red cell alloimmunization in multi transfused patients at a Tertiary care teaching hospital.

Background: Red blood cell (RBC) alloimmunization is an immune response against foreign RBC antigens; this generally occurs after sensitization due to multiple blood transfusions and pregnancies. Antibody detection plays a critical role in transfusion medicine as it can detect irregular or unexpected antibodies. This study was done to know the frequency and specificity of unexpected red cell antibodies in the multitransfused patients.