The risk of transfusion‐acquired CMV infection in seronegative solid‐organ transplant recipients receiving non‐WBC‐reduced blood components not screened for CMV antibody (1984 to 1996): experience at a single Canadian center

BACKGROUND: The use of CMV-safe cellular blood components has been recommended for CMV-sero- negative recipients of CMV seronegative (R-D-) solid- organ transplants. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The incidence of CMV infection in 281 CMV-seronegative patients receiving renal, heart, heart-lung, lung, and liver transplants at our center between January 1984 and October 1996 was studied. The blood components that these patients received were neither WBC reduced nor screened for CMV antibody. RESULTS: One hundred thirty-one of 154 (85.1%) patients receiving organs from CMV-seropositive donors (R-D+) developed CMV infection compared with three cases of presumptive transfusion-acquired (TA) CMV infection in 127 R-D- recipients (2.4%) (relative risk, 36.0; 95% CI, 11.8-110.4). The organ-specific incidence of TA CMV infection in R-D- patients was as follows: renal, 0 of 57 (0%); heart, 0 of 29 (0%); heart-lung and/or lung, 1 of 6 (16.7%); and liver, 2 of 20 (10%). There was no significant difference in the transfusion requirements of CMV-infected and -uninfected R-D- patients. False-positive results were often (40%) observed when posttransfusion serum samples were used for determination of the organ donor CMV serostatus. CONCLUSION: The low risk of TA CMV infection observed in transplant patients who received standard blood components in our study should be considered when evaluating the efficacy of programs that provide CMV-safe blood components for this population.