BACKGROUND: One of the important factors in the ensuing safety of blood transfusion is to use a sensitive screening assay for detection of blood-born infective agents such as HBV which transmits through transfusion. To improve the detection rate of HBV infection in blood donors, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Rasht, which is the largest city in the north of Iran to explore the possibility of using anti-HBc as a screening test. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 2041 blood samples negative for HBsAg, Anti-HCV, Anti-HIV I, II and RPR were tested to detect anti-HBc and then the positive anti-HBc samples were further checked for the presence of HBV DNA. RESULTS: The prevalence of anti-HBc positive samples was 3.8% and HBV DNA was detected in only one sample. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that anti-HBc positive blood donors may be a source of HBV transmission and further study for evaluation of HBV DNA in anti-HBc positive blood units is needed.
BACKGROUND: One of the important factors in the ensuing safety of blood transfusion is to use a sensitive screening assay for detection of blood-born infective agents such as HBV which transmits through transfusion. To improve the detection rate of HBV infection in blood donors, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Rasht, which is the largest city in the north of Iran to explore the possibility of using anti-HBc as a screening test. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 2041 blood samples negative for HBsAg, Anti-HCV, Anti-HIV I, II and RPR were tested to detect anti-HBc and then the positive anti-HBc samples were further checked for the presence of HBV DNA. RESULTS: The prevalence of anti-HBc positive samples was 3.8% and HBV DNA was detected in only one sample. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that anti-HBc positive blood donors may be a source of HBV transmission and further study for evaluation of HBV DNA in anti-HBc positive blood units is needed.