Comparison of prevalence rates of microbiological markers between bone/tissue donations and new blood donors in Scotland

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Abstract
Blood-borne virus prevalence rates of samples accompanying tissue donors are not widely available. This article compares the rates in Scottish bone/tissue donors with those of new blood donors for the 7-year period, 1998-2004. Data were collated from existing internal reports. Age distributions of the donor populations were obtained by extracting information from existing computer databases. Scottish bone/tissue donors were found to have a fourfold higher prevalence for hepatitis B virus (HBV), a 1.6-fold higher prevalence for hepatitis C virus (HCV), an 11-fold higher prevalence for human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) and a 34-fold higher prevalence for syphilis compared with new blood donors. Excluding confirmed positives, the repeat-reactive rates for bone/tissue donors were similar to those of new blood donors. The data demonstrated that the prevalence of blood-borne viruses in Scottish bone/tissue donors is higher than in new blood donors. We believe that the different age profiles of the two donor populations plays a significant role.