Background. Transfusion associated bacterial infection has remained more frequent with a sever risk of morbidity and mortality. This study assessed the bacteriological safety of blood collected for transfusion. Method. A cross-sectional study was conducted at University of Gondar hospital blood bank from December 2011 to June 2012. Bacterial isolation, identification, and antimicrobial susceptibility tests were done as per the standard procedure. Chi-square test and value were used to assess associations between risk factors and the bacterial isolation rate. Results. Twenty-one (15.33%) blood units were found contaminated with bacteria, and 95.24% contamination was due to external sources. The commonly isolated bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus, Coagulase negative Staphylococci, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella species, Streptococci species, Enterobacter species, and Citrobacter species. All of the bacteria isolated were 100% sensitive to Gentamicin, Chloramphenicol, Amoxicillin, and Doxycycline. Multiple antimicrobial resistances were observed in 66.7% of the isolates. Not using glove by phlebotomist, touching disinfected phlebotomy site and double puncture at the same hand or both hands of a donor were found to be risk factors for bacterial contamination. Conclusion. Bacterial contamination of blood to be transfused is a common problem in the hospital. So attention should be given to activities performed at the blood bank for safe transfusion practices. 1. Introduction The development of modern blood transfusion medicine represents one of the greatest achievements of medicine in the 20th century with about 75 million blood units being collected and transfused yearly [1, 2]. Although millions of lives are saved by blood transfusion, limited access to transfusion and the provision of unsafe blood is putting millions of people at risk of transfusion transmissible infections (TTI) [1, 3, 4]. Due to stringent donor selection, improved mandatory tests, and close surveillance of new emerging infections, the risk of TTI in developed countries is very low [5], but blood safety remains an important public health concern in Africa where lack of availability and provision of unsafe blood adversely impacts morbidity and mortality in the region [6, 7]. Transfusion associated bacterial infection (TABI) has remained more frequent than viral infections and is associated with high mortality due to rapid occurrence of septic shock [8–11]. Contaminated blood units may contain a numbers of virulent bacteria as well as endotoxins that are considered to be fatal to the
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