The degree of safety of family replacement donors versus voluntary non-remunerated donors in an Egyptian population: a comparative study.

Background: Screening donated blood for transfusion-transmissible infections is considered an important strategy for maximising the safety of blood transfusions.

Materials And Methods: A total of 17,118 donors, classified into two groups--family replacement donors and voluntary non-remunerated donors--were investigated for hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen and antibodies against hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Treponema pallidum. In addition cytomegalovirus (CMV) antibodies were searched for in 160 donors (80 from each group).