Estimated risk of HIV Transmission by Blood Transfusion in Kenya [Moore A et al. Lancet 2001;358:657] The authors examined the risk of HIV transmission with blood transfusions for a 12 week period from April to July 1994 in six government hospitals in Kenya. The blood donations were tested in a reference laboratory and compared with test results obtained in hospital laboratories. The prevalence of HIV among blood donors was 120/1,877 (6.4%). Of the 120 donations, 109 had been tested by the local hospital, and 79 showed reactive results; these samples were discarded. There were 26 donations that were HIV-positive given to HIV-negative recipients, and the estimated overall rate of transfusion-transmitted HIV was 2.0%.
Comment: The author has identified several gaps in quality control for screening the blood supply. For example, test kits often required refrigeration, but electricity was not available for three or more days during the study period in two of the six hospitals. The EIA reader was not operational in one of the hospitals. Pipetting errors were observed and transcription errors were noted in recording results. The authors conclude that "practical and feasible interventions could dramatically improve blood safety in many resource-poor countries."
posted 9/5/2001

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