Prevalence and trend of hepatitis C virus infection among blood donors in Iran: A systematic review and meta‑analysis

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the main causative agent of post‑transfusion hepatitis. The virus is distributed worldwide with varying prevalence in different countries, which could easily lead to chronic infections, cirrhosis, and even hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of this study was to investigate prevalence of HCV infection and its trend in Iranian blood donors. Materials and Methods: Literatures on the HCV prevalence among blood donors in Iran were acquired through searching PubMed, Magiran, IranMedex, Scientific Information Databank, and Google databases. All the potentially relevant papers were reviewed independently by two investigators by assessing the eligibility of each paper and abstracting data. Prevalence was calculated using random effects model for meta‑analysis. Results: Forty‑eight studies with total samples of 10,739,221 persons from 1996 to 2011 were combined and meta‑analyzed, the pooled prevalence of HCV infection among blood donors in Iran provinces and cities was 0.5% (95% CI: 0.4‑0.6%). Trend of HCV infection was decreasing in recent years. Conclusion: This study provides a comprehensive and reliable data on the prevalence and trend of HCV infection among blood donors and may be helpful in providing insight into disease burden and opportunities for prevention. In comparison with countries in this geographic region, Iran has the lowest rate of HCV infection.