AIDS and donated blood
It is a procedure since
2004 that prior to donation, all blood banks are required to obtain from donors
written consent as to whether they wish to be informed about a positive test
result.
Conclusion
It is compulsory to test
all donated blood units for various transfusion- transmissible infections. HIV
is included in these tests. The ELISA test is used for HIV.
In case a donor tests
positive for HIV, blood banks are required to refer the donors to designated
voluntary counseling and testing centres (VCTCs) for disclosure and counseling.
Recent Life Costs
A 19-year-old HIV-positive man, consumed poison after his blood had
infected a pregnant woman in Tamil Nadu, died on 30th December, 2018.
The
teenager was unaware of the infection when he had donated blood in November.
The test by the government blood bank at Sivakasi had found him to be HIV
negative. However, the blood he had donated in 2016 at a private blood donation
camp was found to be HIV infected. The counselors there neither informed
nor blacklisted him.
Studies show that blood
banks in India have a success rate of less than 50% in contacting donors who
have tested positive for transfusion-transmissible infections.
What is the procedure?
Under the 2004 National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) Action Plan, voluntary counselling and testing centres ( VCTCs) are
required to inform the blood bank of a donor’s HIV-positive status to stop the
person from donating blood in the future only when the confirmatory test done
at the VCTC too is positive. Since only half of the consented donors are
contactable and even fewer visit a VCTC, it is imperative that NACO finds a
viable alternative without compromising the donor’s identity.
What
is HIV-AIDS?
HIV is a virus that attacks the immune
system, which is our body’s natural defence against illness. The virus destroys
a type of white blood cells in the immune system. AIDS is not virus but a set
of symptoms covered by the HIV virus. The immune system gets too weak to fight
the infections. In the last stage of HIV, the immune system collapses and an
infected person can die even with minor infection as defence system of body
does not work at all.
HIV in India : There are approximately 21
lakh persons estimated to be living with HIV in India. The prevalence of HIV in
India is decreasing since last decade due to constant efforts done by the
government and NGO's. Condition has been improved in various part of the
country.
How has India been working to prevent and
eliminate HIV?
India has been working to fight this deadly disease. Government
started several awareness and prevention programmes like – pension schemes
for HIV- affected, national AIDS control programme for NGO’S social
benefits schemes. To deal with HIV in Eastern states- Project Sunrise was
introduced. Government has been giving enough attention to HIV patients so that
they can get benefits from such welfare schemes.
The Indian Parliament passed HIV and AIDS (prevention and control)
Bill, 2017 to provide a better policy for AIDS Infected persons. It prohibits
discrimination against persons with HIV at work Places. Many issues have been addressed
in this bill by the government as maintaining dignity and privacy.
The focus should also be on
creating awareness among donors to visit a VCTC to confirm their HIV status
when alerted by blood banks. After all, timely confirmation helps donors start
on early treatment to keep the virus under check and take precautionary
measures to reduce the risk of infecting their partners and others through
sexual and other kinds of contact and through blood donation. After winning a
protracted battle to keep away professional donors from donating blood by
encouraging voluntary donation, it is time blood banks and NACO worked to make
safe blood availability a reality at all times.
HIV needs more attention and
awareness to get eliminated not from just from India but worldwide. Causes like
Unprotected Sex, Using same Syringe while injecting drug etc should be known by
the people that it may lead to AIDS. A person who suffers from HIV needs regular
affordable treatment, care and more acceptance in the society.
