INVESTIGATION OF ANTIBODIES (IGG AND IGM) AGAINST TOXOPLASMA GONDII IN BLOOD DONORS REFERRED TO TEHRAN BLOOD TRANSFUSION ORGANIZATION BY ELISA.

Toxoplasmosis invasion during pregnancy in mothers without anti-Toxoplasma antibodies can lead to irreversible effects on the fetus. This parasite is one of the most frequent opportunistic infections in immunocompromied patients. The aim of the current study was to determine the prevalence of t oxoplasma antibody in blood donors referring to Blood Transfusion Organization.

Material s & Methods : In this descriptive-cross sectional study, serum of 250 donors (125 women and 125 men) was chosen randomly from Blood Transfusion Organization and transferred to the Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences during 2007 -2008 . The titer of IgG and IgM antibodies was examined by Double sandwich ELISA method.

Results : Among 250 serum sample s , 132 sample s (52.8%) had IgG antibody and 9 sample s (3.6%) had IgM antibody against Toxoplasma Gondii. Among men 48% had IgG antibody and 5.6% had IgM antibody. Among females 60.8% for IgG and 1.6% for IgM were positive.�

Conclusion : Blood Transfusion Organization of Iran does not examine blood samples for t oxoplasma gondii . Thus, these researches help to consider toxoplasma g ondii for serological screening test.