Condition
Current sexual partner of person with hepatitis C infection
Individual at risk
Recipient
Guidance at RECRUITMENT for adult volunteer donor and maternal donor (cord blood donation)
Obtain history and refer to designated medical officer
If donor’s HCV positive partner has been successfully treated for HCV infection and has been free of therapy fo 12 months and continues in sustained remission, donor is acceptable.
Guidance at CT/WORK-UP
If donor’s HCV positive partner has been successfully treated for HCV infection and has been free of therapy for 12 months and continues in sustained remission, donor is acceptable.
However, this timescale may be reduced at the discretion of the requesting transplant centre.
Justification for guidance
Hepatitis C infection is sexually transmitted and might be passed on to recipient by transplant of stem cells. However, there is a very low risk of relapse (<1%) of infection in individuals with a sustained virological repsonse to treatment of HCV and sexual transmission of the HCV virus is rare. Thus the transmission of HCV from a successfully treated individual to a sexual partner is most unlikely.