Changes in reporting policies of Blood donation linked Infections

[Guest guest]

Council asks banks to bleed and tell

Sourav Sanyal

Chandigargh, August 11: State Blood Transfusion Council has asked

blood banks in the city to tell the status of Transfusion

Transmitted Infection (TTI) to donors after taking their consent.

This, experts say, would be a welcome departure from the earlier

practise of not telling the donors their HIV status and would go a

long way in checking the spread of life-threatening diseases like

HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and VDRL (Syphilis).

Three counsellors - one each at blood banks at PGI, Government

Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and General Hospital - have been

appointed. Sources in State Blood Transfusion Council (SBTC),

Chandigarh, said earlier there were no guidelines on telling the

status of the infection to donors. National AIDS Control

Organisation (NACO) woke up to this and issued strict guidelines

saying the donors should be told the status of the infection after

taking their consent.

SBTC received NACO directions on June 11. These were passed on to

the three government hospitals a couple of days later. The Action

Plan for Blood Safety prepared by the Ministry of Health and Family

Welfare says that every unit of blood donated or collected has to be

tested for at least five major infections — Hepatitis B, Hepatitis

C, syphilis, malaria and HIV.

``Blood banks used to discard infected blood. Since there was no

mechanism of informing the status of the infection to the donors, we

were in a way compounding the risk of transmission of these deadly

diseases,'' experts at blood banks say.

Sources in General Hospital say after donor's consent, screening is

done for Hepatitis (B & C), HIV and Syphilis. ``If the blood sample is

reactive to Hepatitis B or C, a fresh sample is taken and the donor

is counselled. If the second sample too tests positive, the donor is

referred to a physician. If the sample is found to be reactive to

syphilis or malaria, then too, the donor is referred to a doctor,''

says a member of the transfusion council.

In case sample tests reactive for HIV, blood banks refer the donor

to Voluntary Confidential Counselling and Testing Centre of the

hospital. Here, three tests are done. ``The worst part is breaking

the news. In case samples test positive, we write to the donor,

saying the results are inconclusive and request him to come again,''

notes a counsellor.

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