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Author Organ donation and past hepatitis B infection?
Rich Wales

2006-03-27, 10:29 am

Can a person who has had (or appears to have had) hepatitis B
be an organ or tissue donor?

I have tested "reactive" to the hepatitis B core antibody.
I understand this permanently excludes me from giving blood
(despite several other HBV-related tests that have all been
negative) -- but does the same standard apply to organ donors?

Rich Wales richw@richw.org http://www.richw.org
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor. My comments are for discussion pur-
poses only and are not intended to be relied upon as medical advice.

Tim Fitzmaurice

2006-03-27, 10:29 am

On Mon, 27 Mar 2006, Rich Wales wrote:

> Can a person who has had (or appears to have had) hepatitis B
> be an organ or tissue donor?


This is what the UK Transplant service has to say
www.uktransplant.org.uk/ukt/how_to_...s/questions.jsp

In Q17 it lists a set of guidelines that they operate by
www.uktransplant.org.uk/ukt/how_to_...delines2000.pdf

That should pull up the answer for the UK and the reasoning for it.

Tim
--
When playing rugby, its not the winning that counts, but the taking apart
ICQ: 5178568
Rich Wales

2006-03-28, 12:31 am

Earlier, I wrote:


Tim Fitzmaurice replied:
[vbcol=seagreen]
> This is what the UK Transplant service has to say . . . .


Thanks. Basically, as I understand what the referenced document
says, someone with an active hepatitis B infection (HBsAg+) should
not be used as a donor in the UK, and someone who appears to have
had a past exposure to hepatitis B (anti-HBc+) should not be used
as a liver donor -- with exceptions possible in life-saving situa-
tions or if the recipient already has (or is immune to) hepatitis B.

This would suggest that if I were to die in the UK (!), I would be
acceptable as a donor (except as a liver donor).

I'd be interested in hearing what others (living in other places)
have to say. For reference, I live in California, USA.

Rich Wales richw@richw.org http://www.richw.org
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor. My comments are for discussion pur-
poses only and are not intended to be relied upon as medical advice.

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