Objective: This study was done to identify blood donors with thalassaemia and iron deficiency. A cross sectional study was carried out at Pusat Darah Negara (PDN), Kuala Lumpur in November 2003.
Methods: Full blood counts were done on 242 blood donors (166 males and 76 females) Hb analysis and serum ferritin assay were done for all the samples. The first time donors were used as controls.
Results: Only 20 (8.3%) donors had MCV <80 fL and MCH <26pg. Six of the 25 donors with iron deficiency had a low MCV <80 fL) and low MCH <26 pg) but all the 8 (40%) donors with thalassaemia or HbE had a low MCV and MCH! The mean ferritin levels were found to be lower among regular blood donors (95.3 ug/L) compared to first time blood donors (116.6 ug/L) but this was not statistically significant. There were 25 donors who were iron deficient: one was a first time donor and 24 were regular donors - 12 (50%) had donated 3 times a year in the last two years. Iron deficiency was seen in 12 Malays, and 9 Chinese, and 4 Indians. 13.3% of the males (22 out of 166 donors) and 4% (3 of 76) of female donors were iron deficient. Thalassaemia and HbE were found in 8 donors. HbE trait was identified in 5 Malay donors. One Malay and 1 Chinese donor had beta-thalassaemia trait. Another Chinese had alpha (a^o) thalassaemia trait. Neither HbE nor thalassaemia were seen in the Indian donors.
Conclusion: In this study thalassaemia and RbE were seen in 3.3% and iron deficiency in 10.3% of the 242 blood donors at PDN. Iron deficiency was present in 3.2% of the first time donors and 12.8% of the regular donors. Regular donors should have the serum ferritin done for their iron status and if their MCV and MCH are low, Hb analysis for thalassaemia or haemoglobinopathy.
Keywords: Blood donors, serum ferritin, iron deficiency, haemoglobinopathy
Factor VII deficiency is a rare congenital blood disorder. Its clinical features are rather variable and ranges from epistaxis to massive intracranial haemorrhage. Treatment involves replacement therapy, which constitutes use of fresh frozen plasma, prothrombin complex concentrates or recombinant activated factor VII. Although it is a rare entity, one still needs to consider it as a probable diagnosis in a newborn with coagulopathy. We report here a case of Factor VII deficiency in a newborn who presented with subdural haemorrhage at day 4 of life.
Plateletpheresis is a method used to remove platelet from the body either from random volunteer donors, patient's family members or HLA matched donors. A cross sectional study was carried out on 59 plateletpheresis donors aged between 18 and 55 years at National Blood Center (NBC), Kuala Lumpur. We compared the blood parameters before and after plateletpheresis and we found that the platelet count, FVIII, fibrinogen and thrombophilia markers anti-thrombin (AT), protein C and protein S were significantly reduced (p<0.05) with prolonged PT and APTT. There were significant changes in blood coagulation parameters but it is within acceptable range.