Leukoreduction as a control measure in transfusion transmission of visceral leishmaniasis

Background Asymptomatic visceral leishmaniasis (VL) infection is a risk for transfusion safety. Leukoreduction has been an alternative for the prevention of some blood‐borne diseases, including VL. This study aimed to evaluate the role of leukoreduction of cellular blood components as a control measure for transfusional VL transmission. Research Design and Methods A total of 161 polytransfused patients with non‐leukoreduced blood components (HNL), 95 polytransfused with leukoreduced blood components (LH), and 202 non‐transfused (NT) from endemic regions for VL and with a similar epidemiological profile. The detection of antibodies against VL was performed by ELISA and the presence of the parasite was investigated by real‐time PCR. Statistical significance was defined as p