Skin flora and bacterial contamination of diversion pouch and recovered platelet components in Moroccan blood donors

Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate bacterial reduction procedures used during whole-blood donations in Morocco. Background Bacterial contamination still poses serious challenges to blood safety, especially in countries with limited resources. Methods In the first part of this study, we analysed 233 swab samples taken from blood donors' antecubital fossa. After donation, a second batch of samples was analysed from the diversion pouches of corresponding donors. In addition, we searched for the prevalence of bacterial contamination in 568 randomly chosen platelet components at their expiration date in order to control for the entire blood unit preparation process. Results The most frequently found bacterial species at the antecubital fossa of healthy blood donors were coagulase-negativeStaphylococcus, aerophilicCorynebacterium,Staphylococcus aureus,Bacillussp. andMicrococcussp. After donation, 5.15% of the diversion pouches were contaminated with bacterial species, the most notable beingBacillussp., aerophilicCorynebacterium, coagulase-negativeStaphylococcus,Staphylococcus aureusandPseudomonas aeruginosa. Of 568 platelet components, 18 were contaminated with three bacterial species:Bacillussp., coagulase-negativeStaphylococcusandStaphylococcus aureus. Conclusion All three bacterial species found in platelet components were detected on the skin of blood donors. Serious measures need to be taken and enforced to ensure blood safety.