presence of gb virus c in whole-blood derivatives: a pilot study

Background and objectives: red blood cell (rbc) transfusion is necessary for the prevention and treatment of a variety of lifethreatening injuries and diseases. however, viral contamination of these products is a great threat to recipients. screening donors for gb virus c by nucleic acid testing is not routinely implemented worldwide. the aim of the present study was to evaluate prevalence of gbvc rna in whole blood/red cell components. methods: in this cross sectional pilot study, we collected 153 units of packed rbcs from blood banks of two public hospitals in gorgan (northeast of iran), between october and november 2014. the samples were screened for the presence of gbvc rna in plasma by nested rtpcr using specific primers targeting highly conserved regions of 5chr('39') utr of gbvc. data were analyzed using spss software (version 18). results: overall, 48 (31.37%) whole blood or red cell components were positive for gbvc viremia. the gbvc rna was detected in 31/88 citrate phosphate dextroseadenine 1 (cpda1) rbc, 16/50 washed rbc and 1/13 reducedleukocyte rbc. however, whole blood cpda1 was negative for gbvc viremia. direct sequencing of pcr products confirmed gbvc contamination. conclusions: transmission of gbvc infection was observed in blood products. thus, efforts should be made to develop new strategies for assuring blood transfusion safety. keywords: molecular testing, epidemiology, transfusiontransmissible infections, gb virus c.