Many persons like him get infected with the deadly virus due to the unavailability of clean blood at private blood banks and hospitals.
The probable reason is that it is not possible to identify the presence of HIV
in the form of antibodies in blood donated by an infected person within the window period that could last from 15 days to six months.
The grim situation doesn’t end here. There is a lack of facilities for proper screening of blood supplies in most of the poor regions, thus, directly exposing the patients who require blood transfusion to the HIV infection.
ELISA--a test for HIV
The fully equipped blood banks carry out proper screening of blood supplies through Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test or western blot testing--a test for HIV. If a negative blood result is detected, only then the process of blood transfusion is carried further, say health experts.
However, there is a glitch. Experts warn that ELISA might not be sufficient to declare the donated blood safe for transfusion if the HIV infected person is in the window period.
Therefore, the blood supplies should be kept in reserve for a minimum period of six months; only then it could be safely said whether the blood is free of the HIV antibodies, they marked. However, it’s a challenging task as there is a huge demand of blood out there.
Dr Brijendra Nigam, a city-based surgeon and a city coordinator of WJ Clinton foundation of HIV/AIDS, said that transfusion of infected blood is the most common way of HIV transmission.
"It can be greatly reduced by screening all blood supplies for the virus. However, HIV test at blood banks are unable to detect the presence of virus in the window period," he said.
"Commercial blood donors are carrier of HIV. They donate blood to fulfill their drug demands. They collect money and disappear. Private blood banks and commercial donors are hand-in-glove as they try to make a profit by risking the life of patients," he added.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
According to Wikipedia, Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a lentivirus that causes acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections.
Infection with HIV occurs by the transfer of HIV infected blood, unsafe sex, sharing infected needles or from a HIV positive mother to a child.
The following measures could help you protect yourself from HIV infection:
•Using condoms correctly and consistently.
•Not sharing needles and syringes for injecting drugs.
•Insisting on sterile disposable syringes and needles for injections.
•Getting all sexually transmitted infections treated by a qualified doctor as soon as possible, also getting your partner checked/treated.
•Avoiding casual and unprotected sex with partners of unknown sexual status.
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