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Human T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma virus risk may be enhanced in some selected donor populations
J Price1, B A Cant, J A Barbara
1National Blood Service, South Thames, London, UK.
Background And Objectives:
Certain patient ethnic groups may require blood components from donors under-represented in the UK donor population. Selective recruitment of Afro-Caribbean donors is therefore necessary but was considered to pose an increased risk of human T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma virus (HTLV) infection. To assess this a seroprevalence study of HTLV was undertaken in Afro-Caribbean and Caucasian donors.
Materials And Methods:
Sera from 1100 Afro-Caribbean and 1100 Caucasian donors were tested for antibody to HTLV. Reactive samples were confirmed for specificity using an algorithm comprising two additional assays and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) where possible.
Results:
Six Afro-Caribbean donors (0.55%) were considered to be infected with HTLV I.
Conclusion:
Donor selection in this case caused a significantly elevated prevalence of HTLV infection and serves as a warning of the need for care in the design of policies for selective donor recruitment.