Blood transfusion safety in the country of Georgia: collateral benefit from a national hepatitis C elimination program

Details

• Journal Article:
  Transfusion
• Personal Author:
  Bloch, Evan M ; Kipiani, Eteri ; Shadaker, Shaun ; Alkhazashvili, Maia ; Gvinjilia, Lia ; Kuchuloria, Tinatin ; Chitadze, Nazibrola ; Keating, Sheila M. ; Gamkrelidze, Amiran ; Turdziladze, Alexander ; Getia, Vladimer ; Nasrullah, Muazzam ; Averhoff, Francisco ; Izoria, Mariam ; Skaggs, Beth
  More +
• Description:
  Background: ; In April 2015, the government of Georgia (country) initiated the world’s first national hepatitis C elimination program. An analysis of blood donor infectious screening data was conducted to inform a strategic plan to advance blood transfusion safety in Georgia. ; Study design and methods: ; Descriptive analysis of blood donation records (2015–2017) was performed to elucidate differences in demographics, donor type, remuneration status, and seroprevalence for infectious markers (hepatitis C virus antibody anti-HCV, human immunodeficiency virus HIV, hepatitis B virus surface antigen HBsAg, and Treponema pallidum). For regression analysis, final models included all variables associated with the outcome in bivariate analysis (chi-square) with a p value of less than 0.05. ; Results: ; During 2015 to 2017, there were 251,428 donations in Georgia, representing 112,093 unique donors; 68.5% were from male donors, and 51.2% of donors were paid or replacement (friends or family of intended recipient). The overall seroprevalence significantly declined from 2015 to 2017 for anti-HCV (2.3%−1.4%), HBsAg (1.5%−1.1%), and T. pallidum (1.1%−0.7%) p < 0.0001; the decline was not significant for HIV (0.2%−0.1%). Only 41.0% of anti-HCV seropositive donors underwent additional testing to confirm viremia. Infectious marker seroprevalence varied by age, sex, and geography. In multivariable analysis, first-time and paid donor status were associated with seropositivity for all four infectious markers. ; Conclusion: ; A decline during the study period in infectious markers suggests improvement in blood safety in Georgia. Areas that need further improvement are donor recruitment, standardization of screening and diagnostic follow-up, quality assurance, and posttransfusion surveillance.
• Subjects:
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Biomarkers
  • Blood Safety
  • Blood Transfusion
  • Donor Selection
  • Female
  • Georgia (Republic)
  • Hepacivirus
  • Hepatitis B Surface Antigens
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Hepatitis C
  • blood transfusion
  • public health
  • Georgia (Country)
• Source:
  Transfusion. 60(6):1243-1252
• DOI:
  http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/trf.15815
• Pubmed ID:
  32542715
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC7441849
• Document Type:
  Text ; Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/ ; K23 HL151826/HL/NHLBI NIH HHSUnited States/
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Volume:
  60
• Issue:
  6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/92344/cdc_92344_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 506.92 KB]
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e85b02ab8a70d3fb18d34a58c1bfbbee2a04b67892d0e3c11cf42631963b3eaaa975dc36861d673dc7749d26b36e9c1b373ed30a036c269460cab3617a79a510