Prevalence of transfusion transmissible infections in blood donors of Pakistan.

Background: Transfusion-transmitted infections threaten the safety of patients requiring blood transfusion, which in turn imposes serious challenges for the availability of safe blood products that are still affordable in health care systems with limited resources. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of transfusion-transmitted infections in blood donors and to evaluate the demographic characteristics of reactive and non-reactive blood donors.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted at our institute in Karachi, Pakistan.