Donor-to-donor and donor-to-patient transmission of hepatitis C virus

A patient was reported with suspected acute post-transfusion hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, 5 months after the transfusion of 2 units of red cells. The archived serum samples of the two implicated donations were retested by the original 3rd-generation assay together with another 3rd-generation assay and RIBA III and were tested for HCV RNA using the PCR. Both donations were anti-HCV negative but one was found to be PCR positive, This donor was a regular donor and was identified as the husband of a donor identified 18 months earlier as being HCV positive, This case is an example of transmission of HCV in the window period of infection, and a probable example of the transmission of HCV from wife to husband through intimate contact.