Key findings
- Over the ten-year period 2014–2023, there were over 14 million blood donations in Australia with an average of 1.4 million donations per year.
- In 2023, a total of 212 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 potentially infectious syphilis, with a total of 213 TTIs detected.
- Consistent with the long-term pattern, the most common TTI was HBV, followed by HCV. Of all the donations positive for a TTI in 2023, 83.5% were positive for either HBV or HCV.
- Overall HIV was the least common TTI among all donors in 2023, with six donors testing positive.
- Although representing only 19.1% of the donor population, first time blood donors contributed to 85% of TTIs in Australia in 2023. This proportion has fluctuated since 2014 (77%–85% range).
- No transfusion transmitted HBV, HCV, HIV, HTLV or syphilis infections were reported in Australia in 2023.
- Consistent with previous years, in 2023, the prevalence of TTIs was substantially lower among first time blood donors (4 to 24 times) compared with national prevalence estimates for 2023.
