Introduction: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a disease caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania and species L. (L) infantum is the main cause of the disease in the Mediterranean Basin, South America and Central America. The gold standard for diagnosing the symptomatic form is the detection of the protozoan in the bone marrow and spleen, but serological tests also show good sensitivity. However, acute cases represent only the tip of the iceberg, since approximately 85% of those infected have an asymptomatic form of the infection, which represents a threat to transfusion safety, especially in endemic areas. Thus, determining the prevalence of infection in multi-transfused individuals can assist in the implementation of measures that guarantee the safety of the recipient. Aims: To evaluate the prevalence of infection by L. L. infantum in multi-transfused patients and controls in an endemic region for visceral leishmaniasis and the possible transmission by transfusion of blood components. Material and methods: Were evaluated 164 patients who received four or more units of non-leukorreduced blood cell components (NLBCC) and 312 controls (non-transfused individuals and patients who received leukorreduced blood cell components – LBCC), all from endemic regions for visceral leishmaniasis (Montes Claros - MG, Teresina – PI, Fortaleza, Crato and Sobral – CE) and with the same epidemiological profile. LCBC recipients were grouped with those who received none transfusion, as they exhibited similar behavior in the tests. The detection of IgG antibodies against L.L infantum was performed by ELISA (Biolisa Leishmaniose Visceral® – Bioclin, Belo Horizonte, Brazil) according to the manufacturer's recommendations. The genomic DNA was extracted by the QIAamp® Blood Mini Kit (QIAGEN™), according to the manufacturer's recommendations and the molecular analysis to identify Leishmania spp was performed by Real-time PCR. Results: Individuals transfused with LBCC had the same serological and molecular profile as the non-transfused controls (ELISA: p=0.87 and PCR: p=0.72). Serological analysis was performed on 475 samples (163 NLBCC receptors and 312 controls) and seropositivity was 8% and 1.9%, respectively (p=0.003). The molecular analysis showed positivity of 4.9% and 1.29% (p=0.04). Discussion: Patients transfused with LBCC showed the same behavior as non-transfused controls, confirming data from the literature on the efficacy of leukodepletion for the safety of transfusion blood. The higher prevalence of positivity in the group transfused with NLBCC suggests that infection by L. L. infantum may be related to transfusion. Conclusion: There was a higher prevalence of infection by L. L. infantum in patients who received multiple NLBCC, indicating a possible association with the transfusion of unfiltered cellular blood components.