hepititus B Antibodies

[muchlovex]

Hi,
My male friend has been told by his doc's that he has HEpititus B Antibodies in his blood.

He was told that he must have been exposed to the virus at some point in the past. He wishes to become a sperm donor, but not through a fertility clinic.

Would he actually infect the reciipent?

Also, what is Hepitius B Antibodies?

I have googled it, but it still puzzles us.

Thank you for any help given.

[China Doll]

If a patient has Hep B then at the hospital I work for we will not store the sperm because you can infect the person and/or child as far as I know.

Anti-bodies fight an illness so we can tell that someone has been exposed to Hep B because they have the anit-bodies for it. I imagine exposure to Hep B would also cover the injection for immunity too.

Is that any help?

[muchlovex]

Hi China Doll, Does that mean he would infect a partner and child?

also, would it be in his system for ever?

Thank ux

[LazyGun]

Muchlovex - Hepatitis B is a blood borne virus and one of a family of viruses that are characterised by the inflammation and damage they cause to the liver ( hence the name, Hepatitis).In a very small minority of cases, the viruse can cause liver failure or other serious complications / fatalities.

HBV (Hepatitis B Virus) is a blood borne virus and is most easily transmitted by blood to blood contact. It may also be present in other bodily fluids, such as saliva, semen, etc. It is infectious, much more so than, say HIV. The virus is also pretty hardy, meaning it can survive outside the body for anything up to a week.
The rate of infection is estimated at approximately 1 in 1000 in the UK, and it is estimated that around 350 million are infected globally.

You say that your friend has been told he has Hepatitis B antibodies in the blood. What that actually means for him is a little more complicated.

For instance, it could be that he has been vaccinated against Hepatitis B, and the test is picking up antibodies formed as a consequence of the vaccination.

In that specific situation, there would be nothing to worry about, and additional tests could be done on his HBV status. He may then be allowed to donate for example, sperm. He should be aware though that most clinics operate on the precautionary principle, and might therefore refuse him donor status even in that circumstance
.
Its really important to have a suite of blood tests, looking for different antibodies,( circulating protective proteins formed by the body in response to exposure to an infectious agent), and antigens ( defined structures on the infectious agent, to determine the presence of absence of the virus).
There are 4-5 of these tests, and the nature of the result of all of these would tell a medical professional a lot about your friends Hepatitis B status.

Other points.
1. Hepatitis B cannot b

[LazyGun]

sorry muchlovex - answer got cut off mid flow, as it were.

Other points.
1. Hepatitis B cannot be cured.
2. There is a vaccine against Hep B, which is usually given in early childhood, and boosters given to health and related professionals.
3. Since the transmission is via bodily fluids, he will be prevented from donating blood, semen and body organs.
4. He can most definitely transmit the virus to his partner, and existing family members, through carelessness with cuts etc, or using shared items.
5. Should his partner be infected and then become infected, the virus could most definitely be passed to the baby ( vertical transmission). There are treatment protocols to try and aid the baby in these cases, but they are not the most effective.
6. He would need long term regular monitoring by health professionals.

I have included a weblink to a wiki page which offers a good comprehensive starter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepatitis_B

[saxy_jag]

When I worked in day centres, we had to be vaccinated against Hep B as a matter of course. I wouldn't know about sperm donation, but it never stopped me being a blood donor. In fact, I changed to giving plasma, because they said if you have Hep B antibodies then they can use your plasma to make more vaccine.

[Ice.Maiden]

Antibodies are proteins in the body that fight infection, muchloves, and the presence of hepatitis B antibodies shows that a person's been infected by the hepatitis B virus. Blood tests will confirm this one way or the other, and also determine how much liver damage's been done.
The reason why people choose to use sperm donars from a licensed clinic, is that the donors go through a vigorous medical check-up. STI's and hepatitis are amongst the conditions checked for, to make sure that the sperm used is healthy and free of disease.
Hepatitis B is carried in body fluids - blood, semen and vaginal secretions, and so yes, an infected donor could easily pass on the virus to a woman and her unborn baby.

[tamborine]

as Ice says....liver damage. Are the whites of eyes yellow? Skin sallow, stools clay/pale color? Feed him up with complan & Virol for the blood. The doc can give him pills to help.

[Ice.Maiden]

Also, depending on whether the virus's still active in the body, there's treatment available, but this requires a battery of tests first of all. A liver enzyme test'd show if the ALT levels were high - a good indicator of hepatitis, but sometimes caused by untreated infections and other things, so it's important that your friend receives the correct treatment.
As tamborine says, yellow skin and eyes indicate the presence of the active virus, but it doesn't mean that he's better if this doesn't show up. Only by having blood tests and liver scans can your friend find out what damage's been done, and your friend certainly doesn't want to be considering being a sperm donor until all this's sorted out. I'm sure he'd be horrified if he knew the damage he might cause, and I hope any woman thinking of using unscreened sperm would never go ahead with such an idea.