Anyone who received a blood transfusion or a blood product before 1992 is
considered to be in a high risk group. Chance of infection by transfusion
today is said to be 0.12%. Blood banks began screening donors for certain
markers as early as 1986. In May 1990, screening tests for the hepatitis
C virus came into use, and the risk is now thought to be one in 3,300
units of blood, or 0.12% for the typical recipient of a transfusion. -
California at Berkeley Wellness Letter, May 1993 (see History of Blood
Safety below).
HCV acquired through blood transfusion tends to be more severe than through
other modes of transmission.
In a group of patients seen at a referral center, chronic post-transfusion hepatitis C infection was a progressive disease and, in some patients, led to death from either liver failure or hepatocellular carcinoma - N Engl J Med 1995;Vol 332, no 22:1463-1466
