Insofar as chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in many individuals is asymptomatic, and as the seroprevalence of HBV/HCV infection revealed heterogeneity among different countries and world regions, exemplified by their high prevalence in Egypt and Pakistan and its low prevalence in USA and Western Europe, this study addressed the prevalence of antibodies to HBV antigens (HBsAg) and to HCV (anti-HCV) among blood donors in Lebanon, data obtained were compared to other world regions. Between 1997-2003, blood samples from 16,084 blood donors comprising 14,993 males (mean age 31.67 ±8.16) and 1,084 females (mean age 31.43 ± 8.17) were collected after obtaining information on age, gender, and area of residence. In addition, all candidate donors were required to disclose any information about potential risk factors for HBV and HCV transmission, which included intravenous injections (therapeutic and/or illegal), among others. Specimens were screened for the presence of HBsAg, anti-HCV, and anti-HIV by ELISA/EIA, with initially reactive specimens retested in duplicate, and repeatedly positive samples subsequently retested by a third generation microplate enzyme immunoassay. Of the blood donors screened, 149 were confirmed positive for HBsAg (0.926%), 65 for anti-HCV (0.404%), and only 2 (0.012%) confirmed positive for anti-HIV. While there was no difference in HBsAg and anti-HCV prevalence as to age or gender, there was a steady decline in the seroprevalence of HBV and HCV, exemplified by a drop in HBsAg prevalence from 1.56% (1997) to 0.67% (2002) and 0.33% (2003). Similarly, there was a parallel drop in anti-HCV prevalence rates from 1.22% in 1997 to 0.82% in 1998, to 0.26% in 2002 ND 0.16% IN 2003. None of the seropositive individuals had an identifiable risk factor for contracting HBV or HCV (intravenous drug user, prior transfusion, etc.), and their transaminases were comparable to HBsAg/anti-HCV-negative donors, suggesting that HBsAg- and HCV tive donors were asymptomatic. These results demonstrate low prevalence of HBsAg and anti-HCV among Lebanese blood donors; further studies aimed at determining the epidemiology of HBV/HCV infection in Lebanon will be of value in determining the safety of blood/blood product in light of the occurrence of sporadic cases of HBV and HCV transmission by non-parenteral routes, and will define the most prevalent HCV genotype and mutant HBV variants in relation to those established for other countries in the region.