Assessment of Methods for Cytomegalovirus Antibody Testing of Blood Donations

As part of a programme to establish a panel of individuals with high titres of anticytomegalovirus (CMV) IgG for the production of CMV Ig, the CMV serostatus of 139 normal blood donors was determined by indirect haemagglutination assay, enzyme immunoassay, and complement fixation. The indirect haemagglutination assay was the most accurate and convenient method for the detection of CMV antibody negative donations. Plasma for production of hyperimmune CMV IgG could best be selected by an IgG-specific enzyme immunoassay procedure.