Transfusion-Transmitted Infectious diseases

Transfusion-Transmitted Infectious diseases (TTI) are diseases caused by a pathogen, transmitted to the recipient during blood transfusion. The use of donor questionnaires, detection of serological markers of infections, nucleic acid testing (NAT), and the use of pathogen reduction technologies (PRT) help reduce the risk of transmission. Bacterial contamination is the most common in blood transfusions, occurring in approximately 1 in every 2,000 to 2,500 platelet transfusions.

The WHO recommends mandatory blood testing for HIV, hepatitis B and C, and syphilis. However, security policies in blood banks are different in each country, depending on the endemic diseases there are, and those endemic diseases in the donor's country of origin or visit are usually taken into consideration. In the United States, since 2007, detection of Chagas disease, an endemic disease in Latin America, has been mandatory. In Spain, in 2005, numerous aspects of blood donation were updated, and the type of action against Chagas disease was specified, either excluding donors or performing a test to detect the disease.

Approximately 118.5 million blood donations are made in the world. 99.8%-99.9% of donated blood in high-middle/high income countries is tested according to basic quality procedures, compared to 83%-76% in middle/low-low income countries. Therefore, the prevalence of infectious diseases transmitted by blood transfusion in high-income countries is much lower than that in low-income countries.