[Blood donor selection in providing anticytomegalovirus-negative blood components]

Sera of 1731 blood donors of the Ulm blood bank were screened for cytomegalovirus (CMV) antibodies. Prevalence of these antibodies was 37%. The seroconversion rate among 1090 anti-CMV-negative blood donors was 13 per thousand per year for the whole donor population over a period of 27 months and depended on age. It was 16 per thousand per year for donors aged 18-40 years, but only 7 per thousand for those over 41 years old. Seropositivity was higher in women than men. To provide anti-CMV-negative blood requires a prescreened anti-CMV-negative donor group and the rescreening of each further donated blood component.