I was informed by the local Red Cross that the 1 unit of blood that I was able to donate had tested positive for Hepatitus C.
My own doctor ordered new tests, which, no great surprise, came back negative. Apparantly cross-contamination in labs is not that uncommon (possibly from Hep C positive control samples ??).
Since Hep C is spread thru blood transfusions or shared needles, neither of which I've ever done, I felt the Red Cross results were wrong. Nonetheless, I received this info from the Red Cross the day before Thanksgiving, and since I couldn't reach my doctors until Monday, I was sick with worry for 5 days that my surgery would be cancelled (turns out no big deal even if I were Hep C positive).
MORAL OF STORY: if you receive a positive test result that makes no sense given your lifestyle, be sure to have a second test done at another lab. This cross-contamination issue is really scarey.
My own doctor ordered new tests, which, no great surprise, came back negative. Apparantly cross-contamination in labs is not that uncommon (possibly from Hep C positive control samples ??).
Since Hep C is spread thru blood transfusions or shared needles, neither of which I've ever done, I felt the Red Cross results were wrong. Nonetheless, I received this info from the Red Cross the day before Thanksgiving, and since I couldn't reach my doctors until Monday, I was sick with worry for 5 days that my surgery would be cancelled (turns out no big deal even if I were Hep C positive).
MORAL OF STORY: if you receive a positive test result that makes no sense given your lifestyle, be sure to have a second test done at another lab. This cross-contamination issue is really scarey.
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