Miami Herald - Saturday, August 31, 1985
Rosemary Harold, Herald Staff Writer

Although Dr. Peter Tomasulo, head of South Florida Blood Service, doesn't lay the blame for South Florida's dwindling blood supply solely on hysteria over AIDS -- Acquired Immune Defiency Syndrome -- officials know it is a factor.

"Sometimes you find people will stand a foot away from you when they find out you work for a blood center," Tomasulo said. "There is something out there that we must counter."

The service, the nation's oldest nonprofit blood collection and distribution agency, is 10 to 15 percent below its collection goals. "And our goals are not even supporting all the blood needs we have," Tomasulo said. The service provides blood to 58 hospitals and dialysis centers in Monroe, Dade and Broward counties.

The two AIDS-detection tests run on blood donations statewide since March have worked better than officials expected, virtually eliminating the possibility of infecting those receiving blood with AIDS, Tomasulo said.

The tests, the HTLV-III or Elisa test and the Western Bloc test, do not determine whether a person has AIDS, but only whether the person's blood contains antibodies showing he has been exposed to the virus. Only about 10 to 20 percent of those exposed will actually develop the disease, researchers believe.

About 200 reported cases of AIDS since 1978 were linked to blood transfusions, Tomasulo said. More than 12,400 cases have been reported to the federal Centers for Disease Control; more than half the victims have died. Reports issued this month by the CDC, the American Red Cross and AIDS researchers show the tests and voluntary stops on donations by people in high-risk categories have made the possibility of AIDS-tainted blood slipping through "as near to zero as we can get," Tomasulo said. High-risk categories include homosexual and bisexual men, drug abusers and hemophiliacs. Officials were concerned earlier this year that people in the risk groups might flood blood centers, once the only source of the tests, simply to see if they had been exposed to the deadly virus, but Tomasulo said the concern proved groundless.

The state has opened special blood-testing centers to screen patients worried they may have the disease. No cases have ever been linked to donors, for the simple reason that no one can get AIDS by giving blood, Tomasulo said. Needles and other equipment used in drawing blood are sterile and discarded after one use.

Officials hope to get that message across to the public. Tomasulo expects to see more reports of AIDS caused by blood transfusions because the incubation period for the virus lasts for years. Getting people to understand that a 1983 transfusion is the culprit, not one made in the last six months, may be tough.

"Even if we weren't falling short, we'd be concerned about donors' fears," he said. "And we're concerned about the anxiety of people about to be transfused. But we tell them now they shouldn't worry."
850831
MH850807

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1985. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 1985. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .