Early Experience With the Use of Hepatitis C Antibody-positive, Nucleic Acid Testing-negative Donors in Lung Transplantation

Historically, potential lung donors who have detectable antibodies to Hepatitis C virus have been declined by most centers due to concern for possibility of disease transmission. Improvements in the sensitivity of Nucleic Antigen Testing (NAT) has resulted in a smaller “window” period of 3-5 days, in which virus may be present and transmissible but not detectable in the serum, lessening the risks associated with using such donors. We sought to evaluate hepatitis C viral transmission rates from donors who were known to be HCV Ab positive but HCV NAT negative.

Source: The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation - March 31, 2018 Category: Transplant Surgery Authors: M.S. Mulvihill, M.L. Cox, J. Watson, L. ElLaissi, C.R. Wolfe, A. Gray, M.G. Hartwig Source Type: research