Hepatitis C virus screening reactive among blood donors in mainland China: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be transmitted by blood transfusion. The aim of this meta‐analysis is to estimate the anti‐HCV reactive rate and to define the demographic characteristics of blood donors who have potential threats to blood safety in mainland China for nearly 30 years, in order to provide a safe reference for blood transfusion and corresponding guidance for policymakers to increase blood safety. Materials and Methods Literature reporting the anti‐HCV screening reactive rate in Chinese blood donors was identified by systematic searching of four electronic databases from 1991 to 2017. The Preferred Reporting of Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses guidelines were strictly followed, and data manipulation and statistical analysis were performed by Stata 15.0. Results Our results showed that the post‐donation anti‐HCV reactive rate was 0.53% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.51%–0.55%) with a significant variation from 1.58% (95% CI, 1.13%–2.03%) before 1998 to 0.51% (95% CI, 0.48%–0.53%) after 1998 when the Blood Donation Law was implemented in China. In addition, anti‐HCV screening reactive rate for family or replacement donors was significantly higher than that in individual voluntary blood donors. Conclusion Our results indicated that blood centres in China should convert more eligible first‐time donors into repeat donors and turn the ‘real family or replacement donors’ into individual voluntary blood donors to reduce the risk of transfusion‐transmitted HCV. In the meantime, large surveys should be carried out among volunteer donors from high‐risk populations.