PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Akhter, Javed AU - Roberts, George T. AU - Perry, Angela AU - Gaucher, Julie S. AU - Howman, Peter A. TI - Use of nucleic acid testing for blood donor screening of Human Immunodeficiency virus and Hepatitis C virus in the Saudi population DP - 2001 Dec 01 TA - Saudi Medical Journal PG - 1073--1075 VI - 22 IP - 12 4099 - http://smj.org.sa/content/22/12/1073.short 4100 - http://smj.org.sa/content/22/12/1073.full SO - Saudi Med J2001 Dec 01; 22 AB - OBJECTIVE: To determine the risk of transfusion associated infection for human immunodeficiency virus and Hepatitis C virus using nucleic acid testing.METHODS: During March 1998, 400 donor blood samples from the Saudi population that were negative by serology were further tested for human immunodeficiency virus 1 and 2 and Hepatitis C virus using nucleic acid testing.RESULTS: A total of 400 were tested by nucleic acid testing, 381 of these were negative, 4 were indeterminate but were found to be negative on repeat testing and one seronegative sample was found to be positive for Hepatitis C virus.CONCLUSION: Due to the low prevalence of human immuno-deficiency virus in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, nucleic acid testing of blood donors by serology is adequate for screening. But the higher prevalence of Hepatitis C virus and increased risk of transmission would indicate that nucleic acid testing may be warranted for Hepatitis C virus in the near future.