Characterization of Abnormal Hemoglobins in the Blood Center of Rio Grande Do Norte, Brazil By High Performance Liquid Chromatography

INTRUDUCTION:In Brazil, blood donation is carried out by healthy people and meets the criteria established in the technical regulation of hemotherapy (Ordinance No. 2,712 / 20013 - Ministry of Health). METHODS It is mandatory to screen donors with hemoglobin S (HbS) and in the Blood Center of Rio Grande do Norte we use High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) VARIANT II. (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA). This method allows the screening of HbS and analysis of the levels of Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c), which is an important indicator of type 2 diabetes.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONThe present study evaluated 29,098 donors, between 2018-2019, of both genders, aged between 18 and 69 years old. 22,754 (78.2%) are male and 451 (1.55%) have variant hemoglobins. The sickle cell trait (HbAS) was the most frequent among blood donors 372 (1.28%). For the analysis of HbA1c, donors with variant hemoglobins were excluded and we found that 26,910 (92, 48%) are in the normoglycemic group with HbA1c <6%. 1,379 blood donors were classified as pre-diabetic with HbA1c levels between 6 - 6.4%. 766 (2.63%) donors were considered diabetic with HbA1c levels> 6.5%.CONCLUSIONThe frequency of variant hemoglobins is lower in Rio Grande do Norte when compared to other Brazilian states. The prevalence of diabetes found in our study is in accordance with data from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF 2019). Brazilian blood centers could perform a large public health service by screening non-diagnosed cases of diabetes as well as assisting in monitoring donor HbA1c levels, however this notification is not mandatory.