Prevalence of Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency among Male Donors in Shiraz, Southern Iran

The overall incidence of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase(g6pd) deficiency in iranian population is estimated around10%-14.9%. g6pd deficiency is an x-linked disorder and 80%of donors are usually male. at present, donors' blood is not routinelyscreened for g6pd deficiency in iran blood bank wherefor detecting such enzyme deficiency, reliance is placed on predonationdata. thus, the g6pd deficient blood may be transfusedto g6pd deficient premature neonates, resulting in prolongedor severe hyperbilirubinemia. fluorescent spot methodwas used to determine g6pd deficiency in 450 blood samplescollected from male donors stored less than 7 days. this wasfollowed by the pre-donation questionnaires for the history ofprevious diseases or jaundice. of which 27 (6%) samples wereg6pd deficient. none of the donors tested for g6pd deficiencyrecalled, and stated in their pre-donation questionnaires, anyhistory of previous diseases or jaundice.six percent g6pd deficiencies among the male donors inshiraz blood bank was a noteworthy prevalence, which wasindependent of the pre-donation questionnaires. therefore,regardless of the questioners' data, it was recommended toscreen the blood bags for this enzyme prior to use for simpleor exchange transfusion in premature infants.