Family/friend donors are not true voluntary donors

BACKGROUND: Family/replacement donors still provide more than 45% of the blood collected in India. National AIDS Control Organization passed the guideline that family/friend donors should be considered as voluntary donors by the blood banks in India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We did a prospective analysis of Transfusion Transmitted Infections (TTI′s) on our family donors for the years 2009 and 2010 to compare the results and evaluate if family donors are as safe as voluntary donors. RESULT: The prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Hepatitis B surface antigen, Hepatitis C Virus, and Anti-Treponema Palladium antibody was much higher in family donors in comparison to voluntary donors. CONCLUSION: Family donors cannot be included amongst voluntary-non-remunerated blood donors as they have a higher rate of TTIs.