Prevalence of Sickle Cell Trait among Voluntary Blood Donors: A Case Study of Kisumu Regional Blood Transfusion Centre, Kenya

Abstract

Sickle Cell Trait refers to the heterozygous form of Sickle Cell Disease. Those who voluntarily donate blood and have sickle cell trait can produce hemoglobin S and A properly. Regardless of a person's genetic status, Regional Blood Transfusion Centres can locate willing blood donors with sickle cell trait because there are no obvious clinical signs of the condition. The health of both donors and recipients of donated blood could be seriously impacted by this, especially if the donors have sickle Cell trait. Our study's goal was to find out how common sickle cell trait was among willing blood donors at the Kisumu Regional Blood Transfusion Centre in Kenya. At the Kisumu Regional Blood Transfusion Centre (KRBTC), we carried out a three-month prospective descriptive study from January 2-April 3, 2024. All voluntary blood donors were screened for Sickle cell trait status by the Sickling test and positive cases were confirmed by the Sickle Scan. The study involved 336 voluntary blood donors, of whom 230 were men and 106 women. The average age of blood donors was 26 years, ranging from 18 to 60 years. The sickling test was positive in 33 voluntary blood donors (9.82%). These patients had the AS genotype confirmed by the Sickle Scan Kit. The study's findings showed that volunteer blood donors at Kenya's Kisumu Regional Blood Transfusion Centre have sickle cell trait. None of the volunteer blood donors who tested positive for SCT were aware of their status beforehand. The Kenya National Blood Transfusion Service should investigate the significance of screening volunteer blood donors since the quality and safety of blood and blood products are required.