Current sexual partner of person with hepatitis C infection
Recipient
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.
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.
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.