Hepatitis B Core Antibody Positive Donors

UC Davis has also maximized organ placement through the use of organs from hepatitis B core antibody positive donors. These donors have been exposed to hepatitis B in the past but test negative for the more serious hepatitis B surface antigen. These organs are used only in recipients who have antibody against hepatitis B. Further testing is done to check the donor for actual hepatitis virus in the blood, which is very rare. This test takes several days and the results will not be available before the transplant. The recipient is treated with anti-viral medications until the results come back and if they are positive, the anti-viral treatment would continue for a longer period of time. Anti-viral treatments for hepatitis B are very effective and well tolerated.  We have safely transplanted many patients using hepatitis B core antibody positive donor organs.