Naila Asif, Nasir Khokhar, Fazal Ilahi.
Seroprevalence of HBV, HCV and HIV infection among voluntary non remunerated and replacement donors in Northern Pakistan.
Pak J Med Sci Jan ;20(1):24-8.

Objective: To compare the prevalence of Hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in voluntary non-remunerated and replacement donors in Shifa International Blood Transfusion Services, over a period of 14 months from January 2002 to February 2003. Setting: Blood transfusion service of a tertiary care center in northern Pakistan Method: A total of 3430 donors were bled. Out of these, 3187 (92.9%) pints were from replacement donors and 243 (7.1%) pints were from voluntary non- remunerated donors. Screening of both groups for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody and HIV1/2 antibody were performed by using fully automated random access AXSYM (Abbott) which utilizes MEIA technology. Results: The prevalence of HBsAg, HCV antibody and HIV 1/2 antibody in 3187 replacement donors was 2.51%, 5.14% and 0.25% respectively. The prevalence of same in 243 voluntary non-remunerated blood donors was 0.82%, 2.46% and zero % respectively. Conclusion: Prevalence of HBsAg, HCV antibody and HIV antibody was much lower in voluntary non-remunerated blood donors as compared to replacement donors. In Pakistan where main source of blood is from replacement donors, the source of blood ought to be changed to voluntary nonremunerated blood donors. This is the only way to achieve the safest blood in Pakistan under current circumstances.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com