Hepatitis C virus (HCV) rates have decreased steadily in first-time donors in Canada since testing was implemented but reasons are unclear. A description of factors that may have played a role in this decline is reported.
Descriptive analysis of first-time blood donors by HCV positivity status and year (1993--2006), sex, and age was carried out. HCV-positive first-time donors and matched controls participated in a confidential scripted telephone interview about risk factors in 1993 through 1994 and in 2005 through 2006, and risk factors independently predicting HCV positivity were determined with multiple logistic regression.
HCV-positive donations occurred most frequently in donors born between 1945 and 1964 and decreased in this birth cohort over time (p