Many patients are unaware that they have received transfusions.
The authors present the results of the notification program. A registry for recipients of blood and blood products was created from the province's Red Cross blood bank records. Laboratory records were checked to determine HCV test results. The risk of transfusion-related HCV infection has declined since the introduction in May 1990 of routine HCV screening of donor blood in Canada. These announcements resulted in no notable increase in HCV testing or telephone inquiries, perhaps because many recipients are unaware that they have received transfusions.