Investigating the efficacy of the current blood donor arm disinfection procedure for the prevention of blood contamination

Abstract

The safety of blood products has improved drastically over the years especially when it comes to the detection of viral pathogens. Contamination by bacteria and fungi remains a concern since these lead to transfusion transmitted infections. In this dissertation, the efficacy of the disinfection protocol currently in use at the National Blood Transfusion Service in Malta was evaluated to determine if its use is reaching the desired disinfection goal set by said Institution. This was done by collecting swab samples from the antecubital fossa of donors before and after the application of the disinfectant and by culturing of blood collected from the diversion pouch. The colony counts obtained before and after disinfection were analysed statistically and it was found that the disinfectant regimen currently used was more than sufficient in obtaining the required bacterial reduction and that it eliminated any fungal organisms. From the blood cultures performed, three blood cultures resulted as positive. Upon further investigation using a MALDI-TOF MS based identification technique the contaminant bacteria were identified. None of these organisms were deemed to have originated as a result of improper disinfection upon reviewing the identification results obtained from the after-disinfection swabs.