title: False-reactive microbiologic screening test results in Swedish blood donors-how big is the problem? A survey among blood centers and deferred donors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Screening of blood donors for markers of transfusion-transmissible infectious agents leads to a varying number of false-reactive test results and sometimes thereby temporary or permanent deferral of donors and also to loss of collected units.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data on false-reactive screening test results in 2002 and 2003 were collected from 19 blood centers in Sweden. A questionnaire was sent to donors deferred because of false-reactive screening test results to investigate their perception of the information and their reaction to the deferral.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Testing of 21,189 samples from new donors and 423,543 donations from regular and/or repeat donors produced 1,059 false-reactive test results, mostly from hepatitis C virus antibody testing, and 299 deferrals. Six different human immunodeficiency virus tests led to between 0.02 and 0.2 percent false-reactive results. The deferral rate varied considerably between different counties. Of 204 deferred donors contacted, 180 (88%) answered the questionnaire. More than 80 percent were worried about their test results and worry was more common among those who did not feel sufficiently informed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results imply that there is a need for a more standardized approach to the screening of blood donors and donations with the aim of minimizing the number of false-reactive screening test results. They also emphasize the importance of appropriate information and support to deferred donors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital-Solna, Stockholm, Sweden. elsa.tynell@karolinska.se
authors.forename: Elsa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tynell
authors.forename: Rut
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Norda
authors.forename: Bengt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ekermo
authors.forename: Margareta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanner
authors.forename: Sören
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Björkman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D001782:Blood Donors / Q000523:psychology; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006678:HIV / Q000378:metabolism; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers