Immune hepatitis B plasma procurement

The requirement for hepatitis B immunoglobulin for passive immunisation persists despite the availability of a safe hepatitis B vaccine, and there is therefore a need for immune plasma for immunoglobulin production. We have screened a large number of blood donors to identify potentially suitable hepatitis B immune plasma donors. The logistics of this have been examined, and the programme was found to be inefficient and labour-consuming. A suitably designed programme of active immunisation with hepatitis B vaccine should provide a more effective means of obtaining plasma.