Screening for Hemoglobinopathies in blood donors from Eastern Uttar Pradesh, India.

Objectives: Study the prevalence of hemoglobinopathies in blood donors from eastern U.P. India. Materials and Methods: In the present study 1200 non-remunerated blood donors, between 18-40 years age,were included . Both replacement and voluntary healthy blood donors included in the study. Blood Donor Selection criteria used as prescribed AABB Technical Manual. Screening for β thalassaemia was done by using D-10, Bio Rad, based on High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Results: Among the 1200 blood donors 19 (1.58%) found positive for β -thalassemia. Out of these 19, β thalassemia trait was most common (63.15%). In all donors blood groups, B + was commonest (44.08 %),but among the β-thalassemia trait A + blood group was most common (33.33 %) . Conclusion: Screening for thalassemia trait should be included as part of a standard blood testing before blood donation and a national policy must be formulated to screen the blood used for transfusion. However, this needs further studies to look at red cell kinetic studies and the effects of donated thalassemic blood in transfused patient.