Blood banks

Viral hepatitis is still one of the most common and severe complications of blood transfusions, with a high mortality rate. The incidence of viral hepatitis after blood transfusions has gone down, but it hasn't disappeared. In Mexico, the estimated risk of infection with HCV is 1 for every 103,000 units administered. The routes of transmission include infected whole blood (IgG), anti-D immunoglobulin and factor VIII. Mexico now has official regulations for blood transfusion. These laws gave place to a reduction of near 57% in the prevalence of infection among donors. The national prevalence of HCV in 2001 was estimated at 0.01 percent. Several tests, like PCR and core HCV antigen detection to determine AcHC, are being applied to guarantee the safety of national blood products.