Why is Hepatitis C a problem for some transplant survivors?
The Hepatitis C virus is spread primarily through exposure to blood from an infected person. Before the early 1990’s, there was no blood test to determine if a blood or marrow donor was carrying the Hepatitis C virus. Routine testing of blood donors could not be performed until July 1992. Because this disease frequently has no symptoms for many years, donors were not aware that they had the disease. Often, transplant patients received many blood or platelet transfusions before and during the transplant process from a large number of donors. This exposure increased the chance of contracting Hepatitis C. In addition, transplant patients with Hepatitis C appear to have a much higher risk of serious liver damage. This higher risk may be due to the immunosuppression required during and after the transplant process. This immunosuppression could allow the virus to reproduce quickly and damage the liver at a much faster rate than in someone who is not immunosuppressed.
