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Copyright of Journal of Transfusion Medicine is the property of VM Medica-VM Group (Via Medica) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) attacks the immune system to cause a lifelong severe illness called AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). The HIV infection is a serious condition associated with high costs of therapy and care. Since the beginning of the AIDS/HIV epidemic the number of HIV infected people worldwide has exceeded 84 million, and about 40 million have already died of AIDS. Transfusion of blood and blood components is one of the transmission routes for HIV infection. The risk of transmission of infection by this route has been significantly reduced e.g. by introducing mandatory screening tests for blood donors. There are still however reports of sporadic cases of transfusion transmitted infections related to the so-called diagnostic window and virus polymorphism. In Poland, mandatory testing of anti-HIV were introduced for all blood donors in 1987, and HIV RNA in 2005. Enzyme immunoassays (EIA) have gradually been improved and currently all Polish Blood Transfusion Centers (BTCs) analyze both IgG and IgM antibodies as well as p24 antigen (IV generation tests) in donors. HIV RNA is tested in individual donations (IDT) or in mini pools (MP); the sensitivity expressed as 95% limit of detection [95% LOD] is 45-18 IU/mL and 1469 IU/mL -- 302 IU/mL, respectively. Verification tests were always performed at the Department of Virology of the Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine (IHTM) with Western blot (WB) and molecular biology methods: transcription mediated amplification (TMA) and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This publication presents detailed strategy and methodology for conducting screening and verification tests for HIV in Polish blood donors in the years 2005-2022. The study is an extension and update of a part of the author's doctoral dissertation and initiates a discussion on the donor qualification process and the effectiveness of screening studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Transfusion Medicine is the property of VM Medica-VM Group (Via Medica) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: In Poland, hepatitis A virus (HAV) RNA screening was performed in plasma for fractionation usually immediately before shipment. Objective: Our goal was to study epidemiology, rate of transfusion transmitted HAV during epidemic (2017–2019), and viral characteristics of infected plasma donors. Study Design and Methods: HAV RNA was tested in 1,866,590 donations from 1,210,423 donors using RT‐PCR in mini pools of 96 (MP96) or TMA in MP16. Virological characteristics included RNA level (RL), antibody testing, and sequencing. Results: Twenty‐one HAV infections were identified (1.13/100,000 donations; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.74–1.72) and (1.73/100,000 donors; 95% CI: 1.35–2.65). The Blood Transfusion Centers were also informed about three donors, who were hospitalized for hepatitis A soon after their blood donation. In addition, we identified a donor, who had reactive result for HAV after receiving HAV vaccination. He tested positive twice 10 days after receiving the first and the second dose. The highest RL was 16 million IU/ml, mean 1,706,905 IU/ml, and median 220 IU/ml. The longest detectable RL lasted for 113 days. HAV‐infected donors were seronegative (36%) or IgM positive (64%). We followed up on 12 HAV contaminated blood components issued for transfusion. In two out of seven identified patients viral transmission was confirmed (28.6%). Conclusion: Based on our results, we propose a 6 month deferral after HAV infection and 14 days post HAV vaccination. The infectivity rate was below 30%. The HAV RNA testing could be considered as an additional safeguard against HAV transmission at the time of increased incidence of HAV infections in the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]