2 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WITH PCR SCREENING OF INDIVIDUAL BLOOD DONATIONS

The introduction of nucleic acid amplification techniques to the scree ning of donated blood requires sensitive, reproducible and fast method s. In our transfusion service, we developed nested RT-PCR and nested P CR assays which permit the screening of individual blood donations for HBV, HCV, HIV 1, CMV, and HGV. 48,000 individual blood donations were screened over 26 months. HBV and HCV infections with serological evid ence were both detected once in 72,000 donations (4 years), HIV was no t detected, and CMV was detected once. HGV was detected in 1.4% of the donors, and viremia in these individuals could be traced back for man y months. Borna disease virus was not detected, neither in 200 unselec ted blood donors nor in 500 immunosuppressed patients.