PARASITIC INFECTIONS AND THEIR IMPACT ON BLOOD-DONOR SELECTION AND TESTING

There is currently less than a one in a million chance that a blood tr ansfusion within the United States will be complicated by a parasitic infection. However, changes in population demographics and increases i n international travel and immigration may all contribute to an increa se 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 presen t review, the following parasitic infections of concern to the safety of the US blood supply will be discussed: malaria, Chagas' disease, ba besiosis, leishmaniasis, toxoplasmosis, and microfilariasis.