Clinical Scorecard: Correlation of ABO/Rh Blood Types with Transfusion-Related Infections in Turkish Blood Donors: An In-Depth Demographic Study (2015–2021)

At a Glance

Key Highlights

• Large retrospective cross-sectional study including 56,766 TTI-positive and over 7 million control blood donors from 2015 to 2021.
• Multivariable logistic regression adjusted for sex, age group, and education level to assess independent associations between ABO/Rh blood groups and TTI risks.
• Standardized nationwide screening protocols including serological and nucleic acid amplification testing (NAT) implemented for all donations.

Guideline-Based Recommendations

Diagnosis

• Universal screening of all blood donations for HIV, HBV, HCV, and syphilis as per WHO recommendations.
• Use of both serological and nucleic acid amplification testing (NAT) for enhanced detection sensitivity.
• Confirmatory testing following initial reactive screening to determine permanent donor deferral.

Management

• Permanent deferral of donors confirmed positive for any TTI.
• Pre-donation screening questionnaires and physical criteria to minimize risk of TTIs.
• Implementation of standardized blood group determination methods (gel centrifuge and microplate techniques) for compatibility and epidemiological assessment.

Monitoring & Follow-up

• Continuous surveillance of TTI prevalence trends among blood donors.
• Adjustment for demographic confounders (sex, age, education) in risk assessment.
• Application of False Discovery Rate correction to control for multiple comparisons in statistical analyses.

Risks

• Risk of TTIs persists despite screening, influenced by demographic and possibly genetic factors such as ABO/Rh blood groups.
• Potential for non-linear age-related risk thresholds necessitating age stratification in analysis.
• Behavioral and environmental factors remain important contributors to TTI risk.

Patient & Prescribing Data

Blood donors aged 18–70 years in Türkiye screened between 2015 and 2021

No direct treatment data; focus on donor deferral and infection risk stratification based on blood group and demographics

Clinical Best Practices

• Adhere to national and WHO guidelines for universal TTI screening in blood donations.
• Employ dual-method blood group determination to ensure accurate typing.
• Use multivariable adjusted analyses to identify independent risk factors for TTIs.
• Maintain rigorous donor selection criteria including age, hemoglobin, blood pressure, and absence of prior TTIs.
• Implement confirmatory testing protocols to avoid false positives and unnecessary deferrals.

References

• World Health Organization Essential Medicines List
• International Society of Blood Transfusion Blood Group Systems
• Turkish Ministry of Health National Blood Guidelines 2016