Influence of Occult Hepatitis B Infection on Blood Transfusion Safety and Its Countermeasures

Yi, Meng; Dai, Shuchang; Fang, Lin; Pan, Bo; Fan, Bin; Pan, Yiming; Liu, Zhong

doi:10.3390/pathogens14040301

Open AccessReview

Influence of Occult Hepatitis B Infection on Blood Transfusion Safety and Its Countermeasures

by

Meng Yi

^1,†,

Shuchang Dai

^1,2,†

,

Lin Fang

^1,2,3,†,

Bo Pan

^1,2,

Bin Fan

¹,

Yiming Pan

^1,2 and

Zhong Liu

^1,2,4,*

¹

Institute of Blood Transfusion, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Chengdu 610052, China

²

China Key Laboratory of Transfusion Adverse Reactions, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu 610052, China

³

School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China

⁴

School of Population Medicine and Public Health, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Pathogens 2025, 14(4), 301; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14040301

Submission received: 12 February 2025 / Revised: 11 March 2025 / Accepted: 13 March 2025 / Published: 21 March 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transfusion-Transmitted Infections)

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Abstract

Occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) is a serious public health issue. Although a number of effective hepatitis B vaccines are available, hepatitis B still poses a threat to global public health. Patients with OBI are usually asymptomatic, but there may be active HBV DNA present in their blood, leading to the risk of virus transmission during blood transfusions or organ transplantation, constituting a hazard to the health of recipients and increasing the risk of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Although China has progressed in the development of blood-screening technology, OBI is still a significant hidden danger to blood transfusion safety. Therefore, in blood screening and blood transfusion, strengthening the monitoring and management of OBI is crucial to ensure blood safety and protect public health.

Keywords: occult hepatitis B infection; safety of blood transfusion; HBV; voluntary blood donation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Yi, M.; Dai, S.; Fang, L.; Pan, B.; Fan, B.; Pan, Y.; Liu, Z. Influence of Occult Hepatitis B Infection on Blood Transfusion Safety and Its Countermeasures. Pathogens 2025, 14, 301. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14040301

AMA Style

Yi M, Dai S, Fang L, Pan B, Fan B, Pan Y, Liu Z. Influence of Occult Hepatitis B Infection on Blood Transfusion Safety and Its Countermeasures. Pathogens. 2025; 14(4):301. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14040301

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yi, Meng, Shuchang Dai, Lin Fang, Bo Pan, Bin Fan, Yiming Pan, and Zhong Liu. 2025. "Influence of Occult Hepatitis B Infection on Blood Transfusion Safety and Its Countermeasures" Pathogens 14, no. 4: 301. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14040301

APA Style

Yi, M., Dai, S., Fang, L., Pan, B., Fan, B., Pan, Y., & Liu, Z. (2025). Influence of Occult Hepatitis B Infection on Blood Transfusion Safety and Its Countermeasures. Pathogens, 14(4), 301. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14040301

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Influence of Occult Hepatitis B Infection on Blood Transfusion Safety and Its Countermeasures

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