Can HIV positive individuals be blood donors?
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Can HIV positive individuals be blood donors?
Blood is tested at multiple stages of the process. Firstly AIDS is not HIV. HIV causes AIDS if not treated but not all AIDS is caused by HIV and you can have HIV and never get AIDS. Traditionally if you have a viral load so low that it is not detected on the standard tests then the chances are they are at a level that is not transmissible. It is not impossible, but a person receiving said donor blood will probably never have an issue.
Additionally people with HIV donate blood all the time mostly for other people with HIV. If they fail to inform the collection the sampling will generally pick up the presence of the retrovirals they are taking to combat their conditions. And if their viral load is so low they cannot detect anything then it is pretty much good blood.
No person with HIV/AIDS should donate blood even if they are undetectable it’s not worth the risk, please remember that we are trying to stop new infections. Now this was many years ago i was told by a nurse friend of mine that donated blood was tested three different times (no idea what tests) before it is available as “stock”. I’m sure the tests are way better today than when he gave me that information. Getting HIV/AIDS through a blood transfusion is almost unheard of in the USA, i think undeveloped countries might still have an issue with blood transfusions but i can’t swear to that. Questions like this make people think and investigate. Way better than some of the ridiculous and re-worded questions asked by people who just want to spread fear and incorrect information about HIV/AIDS.