Effectiveness of blood donor screening by HIV, HCV, HBV-NAT assays, as well as HBsAg and anti-HBc immunoassays in Germany (2008-2015).

Annually, NAT screening alone detected 2·5 HIV-1, 7·6 HCV, and 3·6 HBV infectious donations; anti-HBc screening alone identified 2·9 infectious donations of repeat donors with occult HBV infection. Overall, the survey results support that the currently practiced donor HIV/HCV/HBV screening strategy in Germany does ensure a high standard of blood safety.