How long can a cell live outside the bodie?
Hepatitis is a blood-born pathogen, so the answer to this
depends on how well the whole blood or blood components are stored
(excluding gammoglobulin, which doesn't transmit Hep C). If the
blood is properly stored, the lifespan is, as with most if not all
blood born pathogens, very long indeed. If the Hep C entirely
dessicates, it dies, as it does if heated or exposed to bleach or
other disinfectants (outside the body of course). It does however
survive quite well during the time it takes to share needles (one
modality of contagion). When dealing with the risk of Hep C
transmission, one uses blood born pathogen protocols.