title: Hepatitis B core antibody testing in Indian blood donors: A double-edged sword!
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Until lately, anti-HBc antibodies were considered an effective marker for occult Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and have served their role in improving blood safety. But, with the development of advanced tests for HBV DNA detection, the role of anti-HBc in this regard stands uncertain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Anti-HBc and HBsAg ELISA and ID-NAT tests were run in parallel on donor blood samples between April 1, 2006 and December 31, 2010 at the Department of Transfusion Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi. A positive ID-NAT was followed by Discriminatory NAT assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 94 247 samples were tested with a total core positivity rate of 10.22%. We identified nearly 9.17% of donors who were reactive for anti-HBc and negative for HBsAg and HBV DNA. These are the donors who are potentially non-infectious and may be returned to the donor pool.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although anti HBc testing has a definite role in improving blood safety, centers that have incorporated NAT testing may not derive any additional benefit by performing anti-HBc testing, especially in resource-limited countries like ours.
authors.affiliation: Department of Transfusion Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: R N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Makroo
authors.forename: Mohit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chowdhry
authors.forename: Aakanksha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhatia
authors.forename: Bhavna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Arora
authors.forename: N L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Rosamma