Low risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease transmission from blood transfusions in Aotearoa New Zealand suggests donor exclusion policies can be relaxed
N Z Med J. 2023 Aug 25;136(1581):66-70.ABSTRACTAotearoa New Zealand currently excludes potential blood donors who lived in the United Kingdom (UK) for 6 months or more between 1980 and 1996. This action is due to the potential for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) following blood transfusions from preclinical vCJD cases, who themselves mostly developed disease from the consumption of cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) during this period, or from those incubating the misfolded prion proteins that cause disease. This donor exclusion policy led to 10% of New Zealand's active blood donors in 2000 being e...
Source: New Zealand Medical Journal - August 24, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: David T S Hayman Michael G Baker Source Type: research
