Parasitic infections and their impact on blood donor selection and testing

Abstract

There is currently less than a one in a million chance that a blood transfusion within the United States will be complicated by a parasitic infection. However, changes in population demographics and increases in international travel and immigration may all contribute to an increase in the number of parasitemic individuals who present as prospective blood donors. Consequently, a need may arise to develop new policies to prevent transfusion-transmitted parasitic infections. In the present review, the following parasitic infections of concern to the safety of the US blood supply will be discussed: malaria, Chagas' disease, babesiosis, leishmaniasis, toxoplasmosis, and microfilariasis.