Correlation of hepatitis c with multiple blood transfusions in children of Thalassemia Major

Objective: to assess the correlation of frequency of hepatitis c (hcv) virus with multiple blood transfusions in patients of thalassemia major (tm). material and methods: this study was conducted from at thalassemia center,bolan medical complex hospital quetta and was of six months duration. subjects and methods: one hundred and fifty patients of thalassemia major (already diagnosed) who received two or more blood transfusions were included in this study. blood sample from these 150 thalassemic patients was scrutinized for anti hcv antibodies by third generation elisa technique. results: all 150 thalassaemia patients were in the age range of 6 months to 20 years younger patients aged 0-4 years required transfusion every 4.6 weeks while patients above 15 required every 2 weeks. every tm patients received a mean of 167.64±121.01 units of blood. a substantive number 45 (30%) were hcv positive. direct correlation was found between anti hcv positivity and number of blood transfusions. conclusion: it is extremely important to sensitize the public regarding prevention of the disease awareness of tm,family counseling and there is a need to move away from hospital based blood donation system to acommunity-based system.