title: The impact of screening a heterogeneous donor population for alanine aminotransferase and hepatitis B core antibody. Experience at a large southern California hospital.
abstract: To reduce the transmission of non-A, non-B (NANB) hepatitis, the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) has recommended that donors be screened for elevated levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and for the presence of antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc). In this survey of 5,336 donors, the authors report the impact of using both of these surrogate tests on a heterogeneous donor population that was composed of white, black, Hispanic, and Asian donors. Hispanic and male donors had relatively high ALT levels, and black and Asian donors had a higher prevalence of anti-HBc than their respective counterparts. The overall impact of using both surrogate tests resulted in a discard rate of 12.1% with a disproportionately high percentage of Hispanic and male donors excluded because of ALT testing and black and Asian donors because of anti-HBc testing. It appears that surrogate testing has a much greater impact on blood collection facilities that rely considerably on Hispanic, Asian, black, or male donors than those that largely draw white or female donors.
authors.affiliation: Interpretive Clinical Pathology Unit, Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center 90033.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saxena
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Shulman
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D001213:Asian; D001782:Blood Donors; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D006511:Hepatitis B Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044465:White People
chemical_list: D006511:Hepatitis B Antigens; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D000410:Alanine Transaminase