U.S. seeks new hepatitis blood donation rules

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health officials are seeking to relax blood donation rules for some people who initially tested positive for hepatitis B, which could clear hundred of thousands of new donors, according to documents released on Tuesday.

People whose blood showed signs of the liver-swelling virus after repeated tests are currently banned from ever donating blood, even if medical tests later showed they were not infected.

But in a draft proposal, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that a new, more specific test could help determine whether donors who initially fail a first test are truly infected and suggested they be allowed to give blood after an 8-week waiting period.

While the FDA said chances of someone repeatedly testing falsely positive for hepatitis might seem rare, older less specific tests that checked for antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen, or anti-HBc, kept many possible donors from giving blood.

Reuters