The Current Risk of Retroviral Infections Transmitted by Transfusion in Patients Who Have Undergone Multiple Transfusions

Abstract

AFTER THE introduction of blood donor screening for antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the risk of acquiring HIV infection after transfusion has been mainly confined to transfusion of infected blood collected either during the window period (ie, the period between infection and the development of anti-HIV antibodies)^1-3 or from infected subjects with negative test results using current serologic assays.^4,5 Recently, this risk has been estimated to be low using a mathematical model based on the duration of the window period and the incidence of infection among repeated donors.^6,7 However, information on the actual rate of seroconversion in transfusion recipients is limited.