1. Blood supply safety in Afghanistan: a national assessment of high-volume facilities
- Author
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Francisco J. Rentas, Ahmad Masoud Rahmani, G. Farooq Mansoor, Paul T. Scott, M. Aziz Kakar, Parwiz Abrahimi, Sheila A. Peel, Pashtoon Hashimy, and Catherine S. Todd
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Descriptive statistics ,business.industry ,Immunology ,Hematology ,Hepatitis C ,Hepatitis B ,medicine.disease ,Surgery ,Emergency medicine ,Immunology and Allergy ,Medicine ,Blood safety ,Observational study ,Syphilis ,Blood supply ,business ,Donor screening - Abstract
Background Little information is available regarding blood supply safety in Afghanistan. The purpose of this study was to assess blood safety through serologic and observational measures in Afghanistan. Study Design and Methods This cross-sectional assessment included the 40 highest-volume facilities collecting and transfusing blood nationally identified in a previous survey. At each facility, study representatives completed a standardized instrument assessing staff performance of transfusion-related activities and performed rapid testing for human immunodeficiency virus, syphilis, and hepatitis B and C with rapid diagnostic tests on clinically discarded specimens. Reactive samples received confirmatory testing. Descriptive statistics were generated, with differences analyzed using chi-square or Fisher's exact tests. Results Between November 2010 and May 2011, a total of 332 blood donor collection procedures were observed. Only 52.4% of observed encounters correctly screened and deferred donors by international criteria. Public and private facilities demonstrated glove use, proper sharps disposal, and patient counseling and relayed screening test results in less than 75% of observed events, significantly less likely than military facilities (p
- Published
- 2012