Key findings
- Over the ten-year period 2012–2021, there were over 13.8 million blood donations in Australia with an average of 1.4 million donations per year.
- In 2021, a total of 195 blood donors were detected as positive for a TTI for which testing is in place, namely, hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human T cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV), or active syphilis.
- Consistent with the long-term pattern, the most common TTI was HBV, followed by HCV. Of all the donations positive for a TTI in 2021, 83.2% were positive for either HBV or HCV.
- Overall HIV was the least common TTI among all donors in 2021, with just two donors testing positive.
- Although representing only 18% of the donor population, first time blood donors contributed to 79% of TTIs in Australia in 2021. This proportion has remained relatively stable since 2012 (67%–79%).
- No transfusion transmitted HBV, HCV, HIV, HTLV or syphilis infections were reported in Australia in 2021.
- Consistent with previous years, in 2021, the prevalence of TTIs was substantially lower among first time blood donors (5 to 109 times) compared with national prevalence estimates for 2021.
