Efficacy of prophylactic gamma-globulin in preventing non-A, non-B post-transfusion hepatitis. 
Of 279 cardiac-surgery patients receiving a mean of twelve transfusions, 47 had significantly increased transaminase concentrations 14 to 180 days postoperatively and 10 were icteric.  Preoperatively, each patient randomly received high-titre HbsAb gamma-globulin, normal gamma-globulin, or placebo and was followed at intervals for 9 months.  Only 3 patients had serological evidence of hepatitis-B infection.  3 additional patients had serological evidence of cytomegalovirus infection, while none had evidence of hepatitis-A or Epstein-Barr infection.  Less icteric hepatitis occurred in patients receiving the gamma-globulin preparations (P = 0-003), and the overall frequency of hepatitis was significantly reduced when compared with recipients of placebo.  The protective effects of the two gamma-globulin preparations were not significantly different.  Most post-transfusion hepatitis tody is neither viral hepatitis type B nor type A, and its severity and transmission are reduced by pre-transfusion gamma-globulin.