Diagnosis: Infectious disease markers: Current testing
• All allogeneic blood donations are tested for the hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAG), anti-hepatitis B virus core (HBc) antibody, HBV DNA, anti-hepatitis C virus antibody, hepatitis C virus RNA, anti-HIV-1/2, HIV-1 RNA, anti-human T lymphocyte virus (HTLV) I/II antibody, a serologic test for syphilis, and West Nile virus RNA.
• Currently, the FDA recommends that all blood donors be screened one time for antibodies to Trypanosoma cruzi.
• Currently, there is no FDA-approved test to detect babesia in blood donors. Potential blood donors who have a history of babesia infection are indefinitely deferred from blood donation.
• Both nucleic acid amplification and serologic tests to detect past or present babesia infection are in development.
• Donors who have traveled to malaria risk areas are deferred for 1 year. Donors who either lived in an endemic area or who have had malaria are deferred for 3 years.
