When potential donors are referred for consideration, if there is potential that they have an infection that could be transmitted to any organ transplant recipients, that donor is usually declined. Our work showed that they are often declined even when tests don’t show these infections. Infections like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and hepatitis B virus (HBV) are important to exclude. This paper looked at the risk of a potential donor having one of these infections, if all the tests done at the time they were being considered to donate, tested negative for infection. We found the risks were very low and concluded that accepting organ donations by people at increased risk of infection but with negative viral test results could be considered as a strategy for expanding the donor pool.
Find the text here: Residual risk of infection with blood‐borne viruses in potential organ donors at increased risk of infection: systematic review and meta‐analysis