Which action constitutes a 12-month deferment due to hepatitis exposure?

• A. Tattooing and body piercing
• B. Blood transfusion
• C. Sexual contact with a person with hepatitis
• D. Hepatitis B vaccination

Answer: (C)

Donor deferral after hepatitis exposure aims to protect the blood supply by covering the window period when infection may be present but not yet detectable. If you have had sexual contact with a person who has hepatitis, you could have acquired hepatitis B or C. Because the virus may not show up on tests right away, a 12-month deferral is used to ensure that someone who might have become infected is not donate-hing blood during the incubation period. This specific exposure—sexual contact with an infected person—triggers the 12-month waiting period.

Tattooing and body piercing carry general infection risks, but they are not the scenario described here as the 12-month hepatitis exposure deferment. Blood transfusion is another exposure route, but the question focuses on the exposure by intimate contact with an infected person. Hepatitis B vaccination provides protection and does not create a 12-month deferment for exposure.