Blood Donor Serological Screening in Makkah, Saudi Arabia: A 7-Year Retrospective Study on Transfusion-Transmitted Infections
Amr J. Halawani
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences , Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences , Umm Al-Qura University , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , uqu.edu.sa
Search for more papers by this authorAfnan J. Hawsawi
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences , Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences , Umm Al-Qura University , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , uqu.edu.sa
Search for more papers by this authorLatifa A. Jaber
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences , Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences , Umm Al-Qura University , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , uqu.edu.sa
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Saeed M. Kabrah
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences , Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences , Umm Al-Qura University , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , uqu.edu.sa
Search for more papers by this authorTurki M. Maghrabi
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorKhaled M. Alobaid
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorAlaa A. Kaki
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorAyman M. Aljabri
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorAdel S. Alsaedi
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorMohammed M. Alharbi
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorAbdullah F. Alhazmi
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorHani A. Alsaedi
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorAhmed S. Almalki
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorFatima A. Alharthi
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorYahya H. Almalki
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorAbdullah M. Alotaibi
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorRakan M. Abu-Harba
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorAhmad F. Arbaeen
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences , Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences , Umm Al-Qura University , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , uqu.edu.sa
Search for more papers by this authorHesham A. Malak
Department of Biology , Faculty of Applied Science , Umm Al-Qura University , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , uqu.edu.sa
Search for more papers by this authorMohammad O. Sabbag
Central Blood Bank Department , Health Affairs in Makkah Region , Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health (MOH) , Makkah , Saudi Arabia
Search for more papers by this authorRani O. Alnabati
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorAmr J. Halawani
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences , Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences , Umm Al-Qura University , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , uqu.edu.sa
Search for more papers by this authorAfnan J. Hawsawi
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences , Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences , Umm Al-Qura University , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , uqu.edu.sa
Search for more papers by this authorLatifa A. Jaber
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences , Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences , Umm Al-Qura University , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , uqu.edu.sa
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Saeed M. Kabrah
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences , Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences , Umm Al-Qura University , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , uqu.edu.sa
Search for more papers by this authorTurki M. Maghrabi
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorKhaled M. Alobaid
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorAlaa A. Kaki
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorAyman M. Aljabri
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorAdel S. Alsaedi
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorMohammed M. Alharbi
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorAbdullah F. Alhazmi
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorHani A. Alsaedi
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorAhmed S. Almalki
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorFatima A. Alharthi
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorYahya H. Almalki
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorAbdullah M. Alotaibi
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorRakan M. Abu-Harba
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorAhmad F. Arbaeen
Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences , Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences , Umm Al-Qura University , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , uqu.edu.sa
Search for more papers by this authorHesham A. Malak
Department of Biology , Faculty of Applied Science , Umm Al-Qura University , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , uqu.edu.sa
Search for more papers by this authorMohammad O. Sabbag
Central Blood Bank Department , Health Affairs in Makkah Region , Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health (MOH) , Makkah , Saudi Arabia
Search for more papers by this authorRani O. Alnabati
Department of Laboratory and Blood Bank , King Abdulaziz Hospital , Ministry of Health , Makkah , Saudi Arabia , behdasht.gov.ir
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Introduction: Screening donated blood for transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) is a critical component of transfusion safety, particularly in high-demand regions such as Makkah City, Saudi Arabia. This study is aimed at assessing the seroprevalence of TTI markers among blood donors at King Abdulaziz Hospital-Makkah (KAHM) over a 7-year period.
Methods: In this retrospective study, 17,661 individuals who donated blood at the KAHM, Saudi Arabia, from January 2017 to December 2023, were included. The prevalence of TTI markers was assessed and categorized by year, gender, age, type of donors (whole blood and apheresis), and category of donation (replacement and volunteer). In addition to ABO group testing, commercially available kits were used for serological tests.
Results: Among donors, 74 (0.42%) were reactive for HBsAg, 1419 (8.03%) for HBcAb, and 1295 (7.33%) for HBsAb. Other reactive cases included HCV (0.29%), HIV (0.06%), HTLV-I/II (0.05%), and syphilis (0.44%). No cases of malaria were reported. Statistically significant variations were observed across years for HBsAg (p = 0.007), HBsAb, and HBcAb (p < 0.001), suggesting changes in infection exposure, immunity, or donor screening efficiency. Male donors represented 97.17% of the cohort, and replacement donors were more prevalent (54.75%) than volunteers.
Conclusion: The overall prevalence of TTIs among blood donors in Makkah was low, affirming the effectiveness of current screening protocols. However, the relatively high prevalence of hepatitis B core antibodies indicates prior exposure among a notable proportion of donors. Yearly fluctuations in seropositivity suggest evolving epidemiological patterns, warranting continuous surveillance and targeted public health interventions.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open Research
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.
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