[Importance of screening for antibodies to cytomegalovirus in organ transplantation].

The influence of screening blood donors for CMV antibodies on the incidence of CMV infection after transplantation was examined in 81 heart and 81 liver transplant recipients. All heart recipients received CMV-seronegative blood, while the liver recipients were given both CMV-positive and CMV-negative blood, due to the large number of units of blood required. In CMV seropositive organ recipients CMV reactivations occurred at about the same rate in heart and liver recipients (60.4% to 63.4%), independently from the CMV status of the organ donor. In CMV seronegative organ recipients a CMV infection rate of 60-70% was recorded for the recipients of CMV-positive organs. The recipients of hearts from CMV-IgG-negative donors remained CMV-negative. By contrast, 5 CMV infections occurred in recipients of CMV-negative livers. These CMV infections were probably caused by transfusion of CMV-IgG-positive blood. Our results suggest that CMV negative recipients should be given exclusively CMV negative blood, if possible.