Seroprevalencia de infecciones hemotransmisibles en donantes de sangre

Introduction. Transfusion safety is the primary objective of blood banks, how-ever one of the adverse reactions to blood transfusion are the transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs). Knowledge of the prevalence of these infections was of particular in-terest in this study where we determined their frequency, co-infection and relationship with the type of donors admitted. Methodology. Retrospective observational study during 2017 and 2018, in which all blood donor records containing demographic data and results of the country's (Ecuador) mandatory serological markers of both serological and molecular tests were included. Permission was obtained from the data custodi-an and the Human Research Bioethics Subcommittee. Descriptive and inferential statis-tics were used for data analysis. Results. A prevalence of 3,18% of reactive results to one or more TTIs was determined, the most prevalent age range was 29 to 40 years, 89.8% were compensatory donors and 90% of them were reactive to one or more TTIs. The an-ti-core serological marker of the hepatitis B virus (anti-HBc) was the most prevalent, fol-lowed by syphilis and hepatitis C antibodies. Syphilis and hepatitis B were identified as the most prevalent coinfection. The correlation between the results obtained in the serological and molecular tests was determined to be different and statistically significant (x²=26.9; p=0.000). Conclusion. TTIs in blood banks are a latent risk, so it is necessary to know the epidemiological variations that exist in every population. Knowledge of the prevalence of TTIs in blood donors facilitates new donor selection strategies that guar-antee the best possible safety in transfusions. In addition, the methodology used must always be verified and the established quality system must be permanently monitored.