CMV antibody prevalence and seroincidence in plateletpheresis donors

To determine the prevalence and seroincidence of CMV seropositivity in plateletpheresis donors of different ages and gender.

CMV antibody serostatus, birthdate, and date of first and most recent donation between the years 1976 and 2006 were retrieved from 222 plateletpheresis donor records at the Johns Hopkins Hospital Donor Center. CMV antibody serostatus was obtained for 183 donors at the most recent donation for which CMV antibody data were available. CMV antibody status and time interval between first and most recent donation were also obtained from 97 repeat plateletpheresis donors who were CMV antibody negative at time of first donation.

Overall CMV antibody positivity was 35.5% for 183 donors (mean age = 46.0 years) at time of most recent donation. CMV seropositivity tended to increase with age, being 37.5, 17.9, 37.5, 39.0, and 61.5% for donors aged 20-29 years (n = 8), 30-39 years (n = 39), 40-49 years (n = 64), 50-59 years (n = 59), and 60+ years (n = 13), respectively. Overall CMV seroincidence was 1.6 seroconversions per 100 person years with a rate of 1.4 seroconversions per 100 years for men and 2.3 for women.

CMV seroprevalence and seroincidence in this plateletpheresis donor population are relatively low so that a large percentage of donors are likely to be able to provide CMV seronegative platelet components for many years. Our data suggest that targeting groups with lower CMV seroprevalence and seroincidence rates such as young people and possibly men will likely yield the highest percentage of CMV seronegative donors.