RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To determine the true positivity of hepatitis b virus in anti-hepatitis B core antigen positive donors, keeping polymerase chain reaction as the gold standard. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was carried out at the Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan, from June 1, 2014, to December 30, 2016, and comprised all blood donors who were positive for hepatitis B core antibody and negative for hepatitis B surface antigenon the basis of by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The smaples were subjected to real-time polymerase chain reaction for hepatitis B deoxyribonucleic acid detection. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. RESULTS: All the 100 samples came from males subjects who had a mean age of 36.8±10.8 years. Only 2(2%) donors showed hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid reactivity. CONCLUSION: The inclusion of Hepatitis B core antibody screening may make blood transfusions safer for the patients.
