en خون شناسی و بانک خون Hematology & Blood Banking پژوهشي Research <div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Background and Aims:</strong> Occult hepatitis B virus infection (OBI) is known as an important source of hepatitis B virus <em>(HBV)</em> infection. It is categorized as Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) not being present and low DNA viral load in serum. In this study, an attempt was made to investigate the outbreak of anti-HBc and OBI among the HBsAg-negative donors in Golestan province.<br> <strong>Materials and Methods: </strong>The present cross-sectional experiment was conducted on 3500 voluntary blood donors in Golestan province to examine the presence of human immunodeficiency viruses Ag-Ab, HBsAg, and hepatitis C virus Ab. Then, samples with negative results for the mentioned tests were screened for total HBc antibody (IgM-IgG) through ELISA technique. Afterward, HBV-DNA extraction and R-T PCR assay were conducted for all HBsAg negative samples by using Real ART HBV LC PCR kit on a Light Cycler instrument.<br> <strong>Results: </strong>The study participants included 3255 (93%) male and 245 (7%) female. In general, 385 (11%) out of 3500 samples were anti-HBc positive. HBV-DNA results for every sample with either positive or negative anti-HBc were found to be negative.<br> <strong>Conclusions: </strong>As the area under study has a high rate of anti-HBc outbreak (11%) without the presence of HBV-DNA, anti-HBc screening can cause blood donor deferrals and limit blood supply; therefore, the HBsAg test with high analytical sensitivity is recommended for HBV screening in this area. Regarding the cost analyses and also the status of HBV endemicity, HBsAg test along with <em>ID</em><em>-</em><em>NAT</em> is preferable, if possible, for improving blood safety.&nbsp;</div> Blood donors, Hepatitis B , HBsAg 63 70 http://ijml.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-298-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Rana Tabar Asad Laleh رعنا تبار اسد z.sharifi@ibto.ir No Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran. Zohreh Sharifi زهره شریفی z.sharifi@ibto.ir Yes Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran. Ali Akbar Pourfathollah علی اکبر پورفتح الله z.sharifi@ibto.ir No Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran. Shahram Samei شهرام سامعی z.sharifi@ibto.ir No Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran.