Blood Donor Screening

Infections such as syphilis, HIV, and hepatitis B and C are transmitted by blood; hence, blood donors in nations with mandatory laws requiring safe and healthy blood must be screened for these diseases with accurate tests in order to stop the spread of infection through blood transfusion. These mandatory regulations should be for every country, but unfortunately they are not, and therefore the safety of blood in those countries is questionable. Viruses contaminate the blood of both the blood donor and the receiver. There are millions of infected people in the world with fatal viruses that are transmitted through blood. Other viruses can also be detected in blood samples. The reasons for the infection with viruses are different from the contaminated blood and bodily fluids, including saliva and menstrual, vaginal, and seminal secretions, tattooing, piercing, needlestick injuries, reusing needles, risky sexual life and lifestyle, etc. Health education work is a very important prevention program for educating the population about the importance of a healthy lifestyle to reduce the incidence of contamination and for recruiting and encouraging voluntary, non-remunerated blood donors to donate safe blood for patients. There are different tests with different methods and techniques, such as serological and molecular tests, etc.