Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International - July 19, 2002
The blood supply infections earlier this year were the second cases in the nation since the current method of testing was begun in 1999.
"The American blood supply is the safest it's ever been," said Dan Eberts, director of communications for Florida Blood Services. "We currently use the most definitive tests possible. Our important message is that 4.5 million Americans would die without transfusions, and there is a one in 2-3 million chance of HIV infection."
Don Doddridge, chief executive officer of Florida Blood Services, said since donor testing began in 1985, the blood bank has tested about five million pints. Until now, no one has tested positive.
Testing was improved with technology known as nucleic acid amplification to screen every pint of collected blood for HIV and other illnesses. But a Texas transfusion patient was similarly infected in September.
The test cannot detect HIV for up to 10 days after the initial infection. Before the new test was initiated, the window was 56 days.
Jeffrey Nadler, an infectious disease specialist at the University of South Florida College of Medicine said delaying a transfusion because of fear would be foolish.
"You're much more likely to become infected through sexual contact," he said. The case of tainted blood was disclosed Thursday by German LeParc, chief medical officer of Florida Blood Services.
He said the infected donor gave blood five times from September to May. The blood tested free of HIV the first four times, but in May was found to be positive for HIV. The May donation was thrown out and never got into the blood supply.
The donor's blood was tracked down to seven patients and six hospitals. Two patients who received the blood in March were tracked down and an examination earlier this month revealed they had contracted HIV.
Two of the remaining five patients have been found and are undergoing tests. The other three have not yet been located.
LeParc said it was unlikely any of the five had contracted HIV because it would have showed up in testing in March instead of May.
The identities of the donor and the patients were not released.
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