Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is transmitted when the blood of an infected person
passes into the blood of an uninfected person. You may be at risk for hep C and should contact your health care provider for a blood test if you:

  • Were born between 1945 and 1965, regardless of any other HCV-related
    risk factors
  • Were notified that you received blood or an organ from a donor who later tested positive for HCV
  • Have ever injected illegal drugs, even if
    you experimented only a few times many years ago
  • Received a blood transfusion or solid-
    organ transplant before 1992
  • Received a blood product for clotting problems before 1987
  • Have ever been on long-term kidney
    dialysis
  • Have evidence of liver disease (such as persistently abnormal liver function tests)
  • Have HIV
  • Have an HCV-positive mother
  • Have been exposed to HCV through your occupation. (Note: The risk to health workers of acquiring HCV following a needlestick injury is quite low, averaging 1.8 percent.)

You may also be at risk for HCV if you:

  • Have ever gotten a tattoo or piercing in a nonprofessional setting where equipment such as ink, inkwells or needles were used and potentially unsterilized
  • Have had multiple sexual partners or sexually transmitted diseases
  • Have ever inhaled cocaine or shared other non-injecting drugs.