Why doesn’t the Blood Service routinely perform anti-HBc screening on all donations?
We do not screen potential donors for anti-HBc if they have indicated past exposure to hepatitis. However, the test is not used routinely for all donations because of its relatively high rate of false reactivity. This would result in the unacceptable loss of many healthy donors whose donations are reactive in the test but who are not infectious.
Related Questions
- To increase blood donations, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service should offer free blood screening for things like cholesterol. Why don’t you do this?
- Should the laboratory routinely perform antimicrobial susceptibility tests on GBS isolated from prenatal screening cultures?
- Does the Blood Service pay donors for donations?
