Recently Gave Blood - Reactive HBcore but not entirely deferred.

[Dawnwake]

I read several posts on this was still felt unsure, I recently donated blood (platelets) for the first time, it was a screening tool to see if I could donate white blood cells for a friend of mine.

So I got the call from the lab telling me that they ran tests on my blood in which they found that my blood was "reactive" in one test and that is was the Hepatitis B core. They also said that this did NOT mean that I was deferred from donating, just that I could not be used as a white blood cell donor. I think that was the part that confused me the most. Maybe he meant that I could try again to give blood to see if it was reactive again?

I was given no other information other than that message.

I understand through reading that normal donor testing involves checking for the HB surface anitgen, of which he did not tell me I was reactive for. So I assume negative, which means I am not currently infected?

The other test is for the HB core, of which my blood was reactive to. So this is turn means I had an infection in the past? But am not currently infected?

I understand they do not test for antibodies. but I believe I have had the vaccination back when I was in school.
Does this mean I could have been infected before I received the vaccine?
Can you still get HB after receiving the HB vaccination?
Am I "cured"?
Am I contagious?

I wish they had given me more information.

[stef2011]

when you clear a virus it means you get immune control over it and it cannot make disease anymore as long as immune system is not suppressed by chemiotherapy or similar drugs, but little amounts of virus remains in the blood and hidden in the cells of the body so you cannot donate blood or organs

[Dawnwake]

why would they say I was not deferred as a blood donor?  wouldn't that automatically make me permanently deferred?

[cajim]

So this is turn means I had an infection in the past? But am not currently infected?

--Very likely.

Does this mean I could have been infected before I received the vaccine?

--Hard to say.  You may have cleared HBV before vaccination.

Can you still get HB after receiving the HB vaccination?

--Possible but rare.

Am I "cured"?

--Test HBsAg and HBsAB

Am I contagious?

--Not likely.