USE OF BLOOD DONORS WITH POSITIVE SEROLOGIC TESTS FOR SYPHILIS—WITH A NOTE ON THE DISAPPEARANCE OF PASSIVELY TRANSFERRED REAGIN

Abstract

The establishment of blood banks has minimized the problem of transfusion syphilis because of the routine use of serol. tests and because of refrigerator storage of the blood. The non-infectivity of Treponema-inoculated blood stored for 96 hrs. in the refrigerator has been demonstrated. Similarly inoculated plasma, frozen and held at -20oC for 48 hrs. or longer, is non-infectious. There remains the problem of whether the passive transfer of reagin from transfused blood with positive Serological Test for Syphilis produces a positive S.T.S. in the recipient. 16 patients were transfused with 500 ml. each of plasma prepd. from blood with positive S.T.S. All patients developed a positive S.T.S. at once, the titer being reduced from that of the transfused material by an amt. proportionate to its dilution in the blood stream of the recipient. All of the plasma used was taken from blood of donors known to have a positive S.T.S. and preferably of high titer. None of the recipients developed clinical evidence of transfusion syphilis. In all recipients, the S.T.S. became negative in less than 3 weeks in the longest instance, and in only 4 days in the shortest.