The serological screening of blood donors does not constitute a 100% guarantee of protection against the possible transmission of infectious and contagious agents. The Ministry of Health determines that tests for syphilis, hepatitis B and C, Aids, Chagas' disease and HTLV I/II, as well as malaria in endemic areas, are mandatory in all the blood collection bags used in Brazil. The samples from blood donors must be stored for six months. Concerning the recipients of blood, the Ministry determines that pre-transfusional immunohematological tests such as ABO/Rh classification, irregular antibody titers and compatibility must be preformed. In these cases, the sample from the recipient is stored for ten days. Considering that some pathologies tested, when not detected in donors, can still be transmitted to the recipients and remain asymptomatic for several decades, a study of cause-effect among recipients and their respective donors is impaired. A recent study in Brazil analyzed recipients of blood without any history of transfusion as well as eventual and multitransfused recipients. It showed an important prevalence of the pathologies transmitted by blood transfusion. The study also revealed that a high percentage of recipients that were reactive, were unaware of their serological status before their transfusion. Transfusional safety and the serological pre-transfusional evaluation in recipients of blood are points discussed in this review.
Serological screening; blood recipients; blood transfusion; hemotherapy