Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia, Inc. - 27 Dec 1995
A team led by Dr Eve Lackritz of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta concluded that among 12 million donations collected nationally each year only an estimated 18 to 27 were infectious. The actual risk was higher because blood donations are divided into several elements and a person who received one transfusion usually required others.
For the typical recipient who gets blood products from five or six donors, the risk of getting HIV could be as high as 1 in 83,000 or as low as 1 in 122,000. The actual risk is probably far lower in individual cases because 25 to 50 percent of blood transfusion recipients die from their underlying medical condition long before AIDS has time to develop, the Lackritz team said.
Earlier estimates were higher because older tests designed to look for HIV had a 45-day ``window'' in which a person's blood could be newly infectious and the test could not sense it. The window in the current tests is about 25 days.
There have been suggestions that an additional test should be used to find some of the remaining infected blood samples that now go undetected. But Lackritz and her colleagues say the added test, which looks for a protein known as the p24 antigen, would detect only an additional four to six infected points of blood among the 12 million pints donated nationwide, and they say the small benefit may not be worth the cost.
The conclusions were drawn from tests on more than four million blood donations in 1992 and 1993 from 19 regions served by the American Red Cross, plus results from another five million samples in 23 other regions.
951227
RE951249
Copyright © 1995 - Reuters, Ltd. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Contact Reuters.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1995. 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, 1995. 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. .