Spain Discards One in 1,000 Blood Donations
Nearly one in every 1,000 blood donations collected in Spain over the past decade has been discarded after laboratory screenings detected unknown infections such as syphilis, malaria, hepatitis, or HIV in donors who believed they were healthy, elpais.com reported.
Data from the Activity Reports of Transfusion Centers and Services, published by the Spanish Ministry of Health, show that public health laboratories analyzed 16.76 million samples between 2016 and 2025. Out of that total, exactly 14,989 samples tested positive for monitored pathogens.
Pathogen Breakdown in Donated Blood
Syphilis accounts for the largest share of detected infections, with 7,287 cases recorded since 2016. Malaria follows with 3,376 positive tests, while hepatitis B accounts for 1,934 detections and hepatitis C registers 967 cases.
Laboratories also identified 680 cases of HIV, 450 cases of Chagas disease, and 266 infections involving human T-lymphotropic virus types 1 and 2. The West Nile virus represents the smallest total with 29 cases, nearly all identified within the last four years.
Diseases screened universally or through selective regional protocols
Four primary diseases undergo universal screening across every donation: syphilis, HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.
Selective screenings target specific regional risks, such as West Nile virus outbreaks in Andalusia and Extremadura, or travel histories linked to malaria and Chagas disease. “The ECDC and the Scientific Committee for Transfusion Safety establish minimums, but communities can take additional measures,” said Aránzazu de Celis, director of the SoHO Division at the Ministry of Health, according to elpais.com.
Spain imports plasma while new European regulations approach
While Spain maintains a secure red blood cell supply, the country imports up to 60% of plasma-derived medications, particularly immunoglobulins. Regional authorities are promoting apheresis donations—where plasma is separated and red blood cells are reinfused—to close this deficit.
The upcoming implementation of the European SoHO regulation in August will establish a unified framework across member states for blood, tissues, and reproductive cells. Teresa Jiménez, director of the Blood and Tissue Bank of the Balearic Islands, noted that the standard guarantees clinical efficacy and safety for both donors and recipients, elpais.com reported.
Why infections shift and how positive tests are handled
Why are some infections increasing while others decline?
While HIV and hepatitis B and C detections dropped by 59.3% between 2016 and 2025 due to better public health measures and treatments, malaria and West Nile virus are rising. Aránzazu de Celis attributed this upward trend to increased travel to endemic zones and emerging global health variables.
What happens to a donor if their sample tests positive?
The blood center contacts the donor to schedule a confirmatory secondary test to rule out false positives. If the infection is confirmed, clinicians direct the patient to appropriate medical care and screen close contacts.
How often can healthy individuals donate plasma compared to whole blood?
Donors can give plasma every 15 days because the extraction process returns cellular components to the body. Whole blood donations require a waiting period of approximately two months between sessions.
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