Question

What does CMV mean on my blood donor card?

Answer 1

Blood donation is the process during which people can give a portion of their blood to a blood bank so it can be used when a blood transfusion is needed. The blood donor card can show proof that a person has given blood.

Complete answer:
Blood donation is when a person gives a pint of their blood to a blood bank to be stored for later use. Before giving the blood, the person is checked for a variety of diseases and one of them is CMV. The person is then noted down as CMV- or CMV+.
CMV is also known as Cytomegalovirus. This virus is a type of virus that infects most people. It shows mild symptoms and often there are no symptoms displayed. Thus it can be difficult to tell whether or not a person has got this virus. Once a person gets the virus, it can stay in their blood for the rest of their life. Although CMV is not a major health concern for most people, CMV positive blood cannot be given to immunocompromised people, infants, and pregnant mothers.
This is because people that have weak or underdeveloped immune systems might not be able to defend against this virus. Therefore only CMV- blood can be given to individuals with a weak immune system.

Note:
CMV or Cytomegalovirus is a type of virus that will infect most people in their lives. This virus will stay in the immune system for life. Thus the CMV portion on a blood donor card denotes whether the person is CMV positive or CMV negative.