Sickle cell trait among blood donors in the democratic republic of the Congo: which transfusion policy for Sickle cell patients

Background Prevalence of sickle cell trait is high in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC). Blood services, therefore, face the risk of collecting blood units
from donors with sickle cell trait.
Objective This study aimed to determine the frequency of haemoglobin S among
blood donors in Kinshasa.
Materials and Methods The study was carried out in the period from 1 January
2014 to 31 December 2015, and 250 blood donors, who gave their consent, were
selected using convenience sampling method when donating blood at the
National Blood Transfusion Centre in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. For the testing, blood samples (2 ml) were obtained at the time of blood
donation, added to EDTA tubes, mixed and processed within 24 h. The haemoglobin
variants were determined by electrophoresis on alkaline agarose gel and
confirmed on acid gel.
Results Among the 250 blood donors, 20 8 % were female and 79 2%, male.
Blood donors in the age range from 25 to 29 years were the most represented,
accounting for 23 2%. The youngest donor was 19 years old and the oldest,
58 years old. None of the donors were aware of the HbS status and all have
donated previously. According to the haemoglobin variants, 23 6% were confirmed
as AS and 76 4%, as AA.
Conclusion The proportion of blood donors with HbS is high in the DRC. The
possibility of implementing the compulsory routine screening of sickle cell trait
(SCT), using sickle cell rapid test, should be explored and the supply of blood
units from donors with SCT to patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) should be
avoided, whenever possible.