Background and objectivesBlood donation is very crucial for continuous supply of blood in blood banks for the appropriate patient management. This study was conducted to obtain information from replacement blood donors regarding barriers for voluntary blood donation, and for this, we assessed the effectiveness of personal communication strategy to convert them into voluntary blood donors.Materials and methodsProspective longitudinal interventional study with personal communication strategy as intervention, conducted on in‐house replacement blood donors, who never donated voluntarily, and to convert them into future voluntary blood donors. Enrolled blood donors were randomized into the case and the control arms, and a questionnaire regarding barrier for voluntary blood donation was administered. Personal communication strategy was applied in the case arm, and no intervention was done in the control arm. Six months after the enrolment, donors were contacted telephonically and the history of repeat donation in the last 3 months was asked.ResultsOf the selected 769 donors, 381 and 388 donors were randomized into the case and the control arms, respectively. Lack of awareness about voluntary blood donation, lack of time and convenience were the most common reasons for not donating blood voluntarily. In the post‐motivational period, 23·35% and 3·35% of the blood donors in the case and the control arms, respectively, donated blood voluntarily.ConclusionThis study revealed the factors for not donating blood voluntarily. We believe that our results can be used to convert the existing replacement donors into voluntary donors by applying the personal communication strategy, and future study can be planned, combined with some other effective tools to bring the maximum desired results.
Background and objectivesThe Cameroon National Blood Transfusion Programme (NBTP) has set national standards and recommendations for HIV testing in blood banks, which involves the use of two highly sensitive 99·5% and specific 99·5% fourth‐generation enzyme immunoassays (EIA). The present study aimed at investigating HIV strategies, algorithms and assays currently used in Cameroonian blood banks, after which their level of compliance to blood safety recommendations would be assessed.Materials and methodsA cross‐sectional descriptive study was conducted in 18 blood banks located in the ten regions of Cameroon during the year 2018. Data were collected through in‐person interview of blood bank heads, on the HIV testing practice. The information provided from the questionnaire‐based interview was crosschecked and completed through the exploitation of blood bank records.ResultsThis study showed that 12/18 blood banks had Hospital Blood Transfusion Hemovigelance Committee, while guidelines were available in 15/18 centres. According to testing algorithms, 22·2% used one RDT, 27·8% used two RDTs, 33·3% used one RDT combined with Ag/A EIA or CLIA (chemiluminescent immunoassay) and 16·7% used two RDT combined with Ag/Ab EIA/CLIA. Concerning testing kits, a total of 13 different kits were found among which 69·2% were WHO‐prequalified. A good level of compliance with the NBTP guideline was observed in 1/18.ConclusionThis study revealed a diversity of practice in HIV screening for blood transfusion in Cameroon. As fewer blood banks meet the required standards, these findings should serve as the footprint for the National Blood Transfusion Programme in implementing corrective actions nationwide.
Blood donors of African descent are essential for the availability of specific antigen-negative blood, yet past recruitment strategies yielded limited successes. The aim was to systematically develop an intervention to recruit African blood donors in the Netherlands, following the Intervention Mapping (IM) protocol. Based on the previous needs-assessment (Step 1), change objectives (Step 2) and practical strategies (Step 3) were developed, and further determined through eight interviews and two focus groups with blood bank staff and experts. The strategies were then translated into a magazine article pilot-experiment ( n = 16) as part of the programme production (Step 4). The magazine appraisal and intention-change were studied of the target group and compared with a previously published magazine article and a control group in an online survey. Important factors in the needs-assessment related to donation awareness and knowledge and were also rated by staff and experts as most relevant and feasible determinants. The finalized objectives and strategies consisted of awareness raising and understanding how and where to donate blood. In the magazine pilot, the look and feel of the previously published article was higher valued, but the newly developed article’s content was higher rated. Reading the magazine articles increased donation intention as compared to the pre-test and reference, but the increase did not differ between the articles. IM helped to define intervention objectives and strategies and gave valuable insights in how to implement (step 5) and evaluate (step 6) a donor recruitment intervention.
A 58‐day‐old female infant reported with complaints of fever, difficult breathing, loose stool, vomiting and refusal to feed for 4 days. Laboratory work showed anaemia, leucocytosis with elevated neutrophils and thrombocytopenia along with high C‐reactive protein and D‐dimer with bilateral patchy infiltrate on X‐ray and positivity for COVID‐19. Her blood culture was also positive for Gram‐negative bacilli (acinetobacter lwoffii). Along with antibiotics, she was given 50 ml convalescent plasma. She was off oxygen within 2 days and showed improvement in lung lesions, and RT‐PCR was negative by day 7 and discharged by day 10 of transfusion.
Data on the frequencies of RBC antigens and their variants in the Arab world are limited. Thus, determining the antigenic profile of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) population by serologic and molecular methods is significant to enhance operational efficiency in donor centres and transfusion services.
