![Sample our Bioscience journals, sign in here to start your access, Latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5925/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Bioscience.jpg"})
Abstract
187 donors of fresh blood to 24 patients submitted to open-heart surgery with extracorporeal circulation were tested for complement-fixing antibodies to cytomegalovirus. The patients chosen for this study had no demonstrable antibodies to cytomegalovirus prior to the surgery; postoperatively, a significant rise of antibody titre was demonstrable in 14 and not found in 10 patients. At the time of donation two-thirds of the donors had antibodies. In this series, no difference in this respect was found between donors to patients with a rise of antibody titre and donors to patients without such rise. Abnormally high titres were not recorded in the donors. Every patient had received blood from several donors with demonstrable antibodies.
66 donors to 8 patients with a postoperative rise of the titre were retested 2–4 months after the relevant donation. A significant rise of the titre was found in only 1 donor to 1 patient.
If cytomegalovirus infection in connection with open-heart surgery is transferred via the blood, donors with chronic latent infection must play the main role as the source of infection. The frequency of postoperative cytomegalovirus infections seems to be correlated with the extensiveness of the surgical procedures.