Donor CMV status

dana01

Hello,

I have noticed that the CMV total antibody for some donors is stated as Positive while for others it is more more specific IgG Positive and IgM Negative IgM. Is there a difference between the two? Does it mean that a donor with a positive status has both IgG and IgM antibodies being positive?

Thanks for your reply.

dana01

Any feedback regarding this post?

cryo-admin

Hi D -

CMV Total Antibody testing is performed on all donors. If there is a positive result, reflex testing (CMV IgG Antibody, CMV IgM Antibody) is done to determine if the result represents a recent or old infection.

A positive CMV IgM result is consistent with a current or recent CMV infection. Donors with this result would NOT be able to participate in our program.

A positive CMV IgG result in combination with a negative CMV IgM result indicates historic exposure to the CMV virus. These results are consistent with a normal immune response. Donors that have this result are able to participate in our program, as they do not have a current infection, but have the antibodies from a historic exposure to the virus.

There may be some donors that are listed as "CMV Total Antibody Positive", but the more specific tests resulted in IgM negative and IgG negative indicating that the donor did not have a current infection nor a historic infection. We include both results because it would be inaccurate to report that the donor is CMV positive when the more specific tests show that he was actually never exposed to the virus.

It's important to note that the majority of adults have been exposed to CMV in their lifetime. The most common setting where CMV is spread is daycare centers. You can read more about CMV here: https://cryobank.com/How-It-Works/Donor-Qualification/Infectious-Diseases-Screening/CMV-Testing/

Regards,

Nicole
CCB

dana01

All clear now. Thank you so much for your response, Nicole!