Related Experiment Videos
Does anti-HBc reactivity reflect 'lifestyle' risk in north London blood donors?
M C Moore1, G S Godfrey, P E Hewitt
1North London, National Blood Service, Colindale, UK.
Background And Objectives:
To determine whether antibody to hepatitis B core (anti-HBc) reactivity, as a marker of hepatitis B virus infection, reflects a 'lifestyle' risk in donors in North London, we have obtained detailed histories from donors with various manifestations of HBV infection.
Materials And Methods:
Interviews based on a standardised questionnaire were conducted with 70 donors confirmed to be anti-HBc reactive.
Results:
Comparison with controls (known to be anti-HBc-negative) and donors reactive for anti-hepatitis-C virus showed that current donor strategies are effective; in our area, reactivity for anti-HBc is not associated with a lifestyle risk for those donors who are unreactive in current mandatory screening tests.
Conclusions:
Blood from donors positive for both anti-HBc and anti-HBs should be considered suitable for transfusion purposes. This is consistent with the practice of accepting blood from naturally immune donors for preparation of hepatitis B immunoglobulin.