Abstract: Objective To study the status of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the inpatients scheduled for operations and blood transfusion,thereby to avoid potential nosocomial infection and possible medical disputes.Methods Enzyme-linked immuno- sorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect HCV antibody and HBsAg in the blood samples from 12 280 inpatients admitted in other medical departments than the department of infectious disease,who were scheduled for operations and blood transfusion. Results In the 12 280 blood samples,the positivity rate of HCV antibody was 1.03%,and those of both HBsAg and HCV was 0.17%.Conclusion The positivity rate of HCV antibody is higher in these patients than in the healthy population,suggesting the necessity of HCV antibody detection in patients admitted not for infectious diseases before operation and blood transfusion.