What Other Conditions Does Blood Screening Identify
donate organs to people who do not have these antibodies.
Before this, organ transplants from people with HCV were allowed, but under the label of increased risk. In 2017, the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network reported that doctors were less likely to use organs from increased risk donors.
The OPTN added that this is likely based on a misconception of what the term means, as studies have shown that people who receive organs from increased risk donors have equal or better post-graft survival rates than those with non-increased risk transplants.
The new stress the continuing importance of testing, informed consent from the recipient, and follow-up tests to determine the HCV status of the recipient after transplant.
Annex 7hepatitis C Virus Infection: Information For Blood Donors
Hepatitis C virus is found worldwide. It is estimated that 34 million people are infected with HCV each year and that 130170 million people are chronically infected with the virus. HCV is among the most common viruses that infect the liver and can cause hepatitis. Hepatitis simply means inflammation of the liver.
What Are The Symptoms Of Hepatitis A
Some people have symptoms 2 to 7 weeks after they come in contact with the virus.3 People with hepatitis A typically get better without treatment after a few weeks. In some cases, symptoms can last up to 6 months. These symptoms may include
Some people infected with hepatitis A have no symptoms, including many children younger than age 6.3 Older children and adults are more likely to have symptoms.
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Can I Drink Alcohol Once In A While If I Have Hepatitis C
Alcohol can clearly contribute to worsening liver disease. You must discuss with your health care provider if any amount of alcohol is safe for you.
Alcohol can cause inflammation and scarring in the liver. If you have any underlying liver condition, such as hepatitis C or hepatitis B or damage from long-term alcohol use, your liver will be more sensitive to alcohol. When you have hepatitis C virus, alcohol on top of the hepatitis C can cause the inflammation and scarring to be worse, and overall damage to the liver may happen much faster when you drink alcohol.
Here is some helpful information about alcohol and hepatitis:
What Foods Should I Avoid
Everyone should avoid eating a lot of fat, cholesterol, salt and processed sugar, even if their liver is healthy. In addition, those with HCV should limit or avoid alcohol. Drinking alcohol will speed up liver damage.
Eating properly can help decrease some of the symptoms of Hepatitis C, like feeling tired and sick. Drink lots of water for general health benefits. HCV is not a digestive disease diet will not affect the disease. Your provider may put you on a special diet if you have advanced liver disease.
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How Could I Get Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is spread by contact with an infected persons blood. You
could get hepatitis C by
- getting pricked with a needle that has infected blood on it (hospitalsharing drug needles
- workers can get hepatitis C this way)
- having sex with an infected person, especially if you or your partner hasother sexually transmitted diseases
- being born to a mother with hepatitis C
In rare cases, you could get hepatitis C by
- getting a tattoo or body piercing with unsterilized, dirtytools
You can NOT get hepatitis C by
- shaking hands with an infected person
- hugging an infected person
- sitting next to an infected person
What Is Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is a viral infection that causes liver inflammation and damage. Inflammation is swelling that occurs when tissues of the body become injured or infected. Inflammation can damage organs.
Viruses invade normal cells in your body. Many viruses cause infections that can be spread from person to person. The hepatitis A virus typically spreads through contact with food or water that has been contaminated by an infected persons stool.
Hepatitis A is an acute or short-term infection, which means people usually get better without treatment after a few weeks. In rare cases, hepatitis A can be severe and lead to liver failure and the need for an emergency liver transplant to survive. Hepatitis A does not lead to long-term complications, such as cirrhosis, because the infection only lasts a short time.
You can take steps to protect yourself from hepatitis A, including getting the hepatitis A vaccine. If you have hepatitis A, you can take steps to prevent spreading hepatitis A to others.
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If You Have Hepatitis C Can You Have Sex Without Infecting Your Partner
Hepatitis C is a virus that is transmitted by blood. The most common ways people become infected with hepatitis C are through needle sharing, such as during injection drug use, or from blood transfusions received before 1992.
Becoming infected from sex is not common, but it does happen. If you have hepatitis C, the chance of infecting a sex partner is higher if you are with a new partner or if you have had many different partners over time. If you have hepatitis C, the chance of infecting a sex partner is lower if you are with a longtime stable partner and if you are in a monogamous relationship.
If your sex partner is new to you, or if you have many different partners, it is safer if you use condoms during sex to reduce the chance of transmitting hepatitis C.
It is always best to talk directly with your health care provider to assess whether you should start using condoms. If you are in a sexual relationship and either you or your partner has hepatitis C, the other partner should be tested for hepatitis C and other sexually transmitted viruses once a year, or as advised by your provider.
How Do I Prepare To Donate Plasma
On the day of your plasma donation appointment, make sure that you get some rest and have a healthy breakfast. You should drink lots of fluids, but avoid coffee, tea, and alcohol, as these drinks actually dehydrate you. Opt for water or juice instead. You should not eat anything oily or greasy before donating plasma since this can affect the quality of your plasma.
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How Does Hepatitis C Progress
When someone is first infected with hepatitis C, most likely they have no symptoms and are unaware. Occasionally people experience fatigue, loss of appetite, weakness or sometimes having a yellow color in their skin or eyes. Although having any symptoms at all is rare, if they do occur, they usually go away within a few weeks.
Around 15-25% of people who are infected will spontaneously fight off the virus on their own and they will not have a chronic hepatitis C infection and no long term damage occurs.
But around 75-85% of people will develop chronic infection. Most of the time, people with chronic hepatitis C have no symptoms at the time of infection and no symptoms for years or even decades of chronic infection. The virus will be with them until they are successfully treated with hepatitis C medications.
Around 10-20% of people with chronic infection will slowly have gradual damage in the liver over years and will eventually develop cirrhosis . This can take 20 years or more from the time of the initial infection.
Cirrhosis is the replacement of liver cells with permanent scar tissue. Cirrhosis can lead to problems such as bleeding from veins in the esophagus, fluid buildup in the belly, and damaged brain function.Approximately 15% of people with cirrhosis will develop liver cancer during their lifetime. Drinking excessively can double the chance of liver cancer in people infected with HCV.
Is Donating Plasma Painful
Whether the process is painful for you depends on your pain threshold. For some people, donating feels no worse than a pinprick, while others may feel more pain. If the nurse misses the vein or you experience plasma donation side effects, its possible youll experience more pain, but overall, most people report nothing more than mild discomfort.
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How Can I Protect Myself
You can protect yourself and others from hepatitis C.
| If you inject drugs, use your ownneedles. |
- Dont share drug needles with anyone.
- Wear gloves if you have to touch anyones blood.
- If you have several sex partners, use a condom during sex.
- Dont use an infected persons toothbrush, razor, or anything else thatcould have blood on it.
- If you get a tattoo or body piercing, make sure it is done with clean tools.
- If you have hepatitis C, dont give your blood or plasma. The person whoreceives it could become infected with the virus.
Who Should Get Tested For Hepatitis C
The CDC recommends that you get tested at least once no matter what. Definitely get screened if any of these things apply to you:
- You were born between 1945 and 1965.
- You use or inject drugs.
- You have ever injected drugs — even if it was just once or a long time ago.
- Youâre on kidney dialysis.
- You have abnormal alanine aminotransferase levels .
- You had a blood transfusion, blood components, or an organ transplant before July 1992.
- Youâve ever gotten clotting factor concentrates made before 1987.
- You received blood from a donor who later tested positive for hepatitis C virus.
- Youâre a health care worker, first responder, or have another job that exposes you to HCV-infected needles.
- You were born to a mother with HCV.
Read Also: Who Needs To Be Tested For Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C Testing And Diagnosis
Doctors will start by checking your blood for:
Anti-HCV antibodies: This blood test is the first — and sometimes only — one you may get. Also called the ELISA screen, it checks for antibodies that your body releases to fight the virus. These are proteins your body makes when it finds the hep C virus in your blood. They usually show up about 12 weeks after infection. Your test will be either negative or positive for antibodies. It usually takes a few days to a week to get results, though a rapid test is available in some places.
What the results mean
Negative . This is when your blood shows no signs of HCV antibodies. Most of the time, thatâs because you never came in contact with the virus and you do not have hep C.
Sometimes, your negative result can be false, meaning you have HCV. That may happen if you:
- Took the test too soon after your exposure. This test checks for only HCV antibodies, which can take several months to appear.
- Have HIV, a donated organ, or other conditions that weaken your immune system, which can suppress your antibodies
- Get hemodialysis for kidney problems
If youâve been exposed in the last 6 months, youâll need to be retested.
Positive . This means youâve been infected with HCV. But false positives are surprisingly common. More than 1 in 5 people who test positive donât actually have hepatitis C. Possible reasons include:
What the results mean
You Traveled To The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time
Travel exposes us to different cultures, customs, and diseases. Unfortunately, some of these diseases can affect your ability to donate blood.
Mad Cow Disease / Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is an infectious brain disease that occurs in humans and can be passed on via blood transfusion. Individuals with CJD are not allowed to donate blood. Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, more commonly known as Mad Cow Disease, is a variant of CJD that can be passed on to humans when they eat food products from cows sick with Bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Once infected, humans can then pass vCJD on to other humans via blood transfusions.
In the 80s and 90s, the UK saw a widespread outbreak of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cows. Symptoms from vCJD can take years to show. Currently, there is no sufficient test that can be used to screen all blood donors for vCJD before donation, which is why certain restrictions are placed on potential donors who traveled to, lived in, received blood transfusions in and around the UK during those times.
In particular, you will not be allowed to donate blood due concerns over vCJD if you:
- Traveled/lived 3 months or more in the UK from Jan. 1st, 1980 Dec. 31st, 1996
- Traveled/lived 5 years or more in France or Ireland from Jan. 1st 1990 Dec. 31st,1996
- Received a blood transfusion in France, Ireland, or the UK from Jan. 1st, 1980 present
Malaria
Appropriate wait times for blood donation if exposed to malaria:
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Articles On Hepatitis C
If you’ve just been diagnosed with hepatitis C, you may wonder how you got it and worry about passing on the virus to a loved one. If you’ve had the disease for a long time without knowing it, you could dwell on every little incident in the past where you might have accidentally exposed a family member to the disease.
It’s important to remember that hepatitis C isn’t easy to catch. If you take a few precautions, it’s almost impossible to pass on the disease to someone else.
A Quick Note On The Different Types Of Blood Donation
Today, there are several different types of blood donation. For example, The American Red Cross has four different donation categories that are split up depending on the blood components taken:
- Whole Blood: White blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, and plasma all donated
- Power Red: 2 units of red blood cells donated platelets and plasma returned to your bloodstream
- Platelet donation: Only platelets extracted donated other blood components are returned to bloodstream
- Plasma donation: Only plasma extracted and donated other blood components are returned to bloodstream
If you intend to take advantage of a blood donation type other than whole blood donation, keep in mind that these donations may be subject to additional restrictions and rules.
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Am I Eligible To Donate Blood If Ive Had Hep C
According to the CDC and Red Cross, currently, you cannot donate blood if youve ever had hepatitis C. Clearing the virus spontaneously or being cured of hepatitis C treatment does not make you eligible.1,2
Once your blood has been infected with hepatitis C, your immune system makes antibodies for hepatitis C. No matter if youve cleared or cured of hepatitis C, antibodies will always be present in your blood. You can think of this as a footprint left behind showing you once had hepatitis C.
Having hepatitis C antibodies does not necessarily mean you still have hepatitis C, only that it was there at some point. An antibody test for hepatitis C is typically the first test done to see if the patient has or has had hepatitis C in order to rule out the presence of the virus.
Can I Donate Blood After Having Hepatitis B
Is it possible to donate blood after having hepatitis B? Josh*
Hepatitis B is one of the that cause hepatitis. One way that someone can become infected with the hepatitis B virus is through blood.
People infected with hepatitis B may carry the virus without even knowing it. They can pass it to others through blood or sexual contact. Because of this, anyone who has ever tested positive for hepatitis B cannot donate blood.
It’s not just hepatitis B that affects who can donate blood. Other types of viral hepatitis, HIV, and some infections can mean that a person can’t give blood.
*Names have been changed to protect user privacy.
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Complete Care And Our Patients Thank You For Donating Blood
Complete Care and our patients thank you for donating blood! Like all emergency rooms, Complete Care relies on donated blood to help save the lives of our patients. Just one donation can help save up to three lives! Blood cells, platelets, plasma its all useful and potentially life-saving. Find a local blood drive near you and schedule a date to donate today. And thank you, from the bottom of our hearts!
If you find yourself feeling especially ill after a blood donation, Complete Care is here to help. We are open 24/7 and welcome walk-ins. We are here for any of your health concerns. Visit your nearest Complete Care location today for quick, efficient, patient-centered care today.
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Important Information About Hiv And Aids
- I am a man who has had sex with another man even one time since 1977.
- I have taken illegal drugs with a needle.
- I have taken clotting factor concentrates for a bleeding disorder such as hemophilia.
- I have taken money or drugs for sex since 1977.
- I have had sex within the last 12 months with someone who has been involved in any of the activities listed above.
- I have received blood, for any reason, within the last 12 months.
- I have had or been treated for syphilis or gonorrhea in the last 12 months.
- I have had sex in the past 12 months with someone who has AIDS or who has tested positive for the AIDS virus.
- I have been held in a correctional institution for more than 72 hours consecutively within the last 12 months.
- Fever higher than 100.5 for more than 10 days
- Unexplained sweating, especially at night
- Persistent cough
- swollen lymph nodes lasting more than one month
- White or unusual spots in your mouth that will not go away
- Blue or purple spots on or under the skin or inside the mouth or nose
- HIV antibodies
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