Factors influencing blood donation among university students in Vojvodina, Serbia: cross-sectional study.

Background And Objectives: The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of sociodemographic factors on knowledge, attitudes, motivation and potential barriers of university students towards blood donation in the order to more effective donation promotion.

Design: The cross-sectional study was conducted on 1000 participants (500 non-blood donors-NBD, 276 first time blood donors-FTBD and 224 regular blood donors-RBD) from the 14 faculties of the University of Novi Sad, Serbia. The measurement tool used was a pretested survey questionnaire that included 22 questions focused on the factors influencing blood donation.

Blood Group Variations in COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma and Regular Blood Donors: A Comparative Analysis in the Serbian Population.

This research explores the association between ABO blood groups and susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection, analyzing Convalescent COVID-19 plasma (CCP) donors ( = 500) and healthy whole blood donors (BDs) ( = 9678) during the pandemic (1 May 2020 to 30 April 2021). A comparison is made with pre-pandemic BDs ( = 11,892) from 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2019. Significant differences in blood group distribution are observed, with blood group A individuals being three times more likely to be CCP donors.

Reactivity of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Serbian voluntary blood donors.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has major implications on the entire blood supply system worldwide. Seroepidemiological studies are certainly necessary for better understanding the global burden that the COVID-19 pandemic represents.

Objectives: In this study, we analysed the association between demographic factors, COVID-19 severity, vaccination status and the reactivity of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in Serbian blood donors.

Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus and Seroprevalence in Balkan Tick-Infested Individuals: A Two-Centre Study.

Lyme borreliosis (LB) and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) are important tick-borne diseases in Europe. This study aimed to investigate the seroreactivity against and TBE virus (TBEV) in tick-infested individuals in North Macedonia and Serbia. Serum samples were collected from tick-infested individuals and from healthy individuals in the same regions.

Demographic and Clinical Factors Associated with Reactivity of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Serbian Convalescent Plasma Donors.

Passive immunotherapy with convalescent COVID-19 plasma (CCP) is used as a therapeutic procedure in many countries, including Serbia. In this study, we analyzed the association between demographic factors, COVID-19 severity and the reactivity of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (Abs) in Serbian CCP donors. Individuals ( = 468) recovered from confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, and who were willing to donate their plasma for passive immunization of COVID-19 patients were enrolled in the study.

Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Seropositivity among Tick Infested Individuals in Serbia.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), caused by the TBE virus (TBEV), is a life-threatening disease with clinical symptoms ranging from non-specific to severe inflammation of the central nervous system. Despite TBE is a notifiable disease in Serbia since 2004, there is no active TBE surveillance program for the serologic or molecular screening of TBEV infection in humans in the country. This prospective cohort study aimed to assess the TBEV exposure among tick-infested individuals in Serbia during the year 2020.

Shared Odds of and Rabies Virus Exposure in Serbia.

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common tick-borne disease in Serbia and other European countries. Rabies is a fatal zoonosis distributed worldwide and is caused by the rabies virus. Professionals at risk of rabies-including veterinarians, hunters, communal service workers, and forestry workers-overlap with some professions at a higher risk of exposure to tick bites and tick-borne pathogen infections.

Assessing donor suitability for blood donation: Utility of Geenius HIV 1/2 confirmatory assay.

Background: Blood donor care and blood safety require a quick and accurate decision on the presence or absence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection, based on the proper selection of blood donors, serological and molecular HIV testing as well as western blot test. The aim was investigating the possibility of inclusion of Geenius HIV 1/2 Confirmatory Assay in blood donor testing algorithm in order to shorten test time and decrease the number of indeterminate results.

Methods: A total of 75 archived serum/plasma samples were tested.