Donate blood, know your HIV status

March 29, 2006

Vineeta Pandey

Tuesday, March 28, 2006 23:26 IST

NEW DELHI: So far you have been donating blood without knowing your

HIV status. But that is changing. In a change of policy, the

National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) now wants blood banks to

call up donors and tell them about their HIV status, if found

positive.

Till now the policy has been to take blood from the donors and later

check it for HIV virus. If positive the blood is thrown away. The

donor never gets to know his HIV status and goes on to donate again.

" The idea behind this change is to get as many people treated. If

the patient knows about HIV status, he or she can be immediately put

on medication, " said Sujatha Rao, director general of NACO.

The disclosure, however, will be confidential and will be followed by

counselling. Despite massive awareness campaigns, government is

concerned that people still do not volunteer to find out their HIV

status due to the stigma attached to it.

" Government still prefers voluntary disclosure. Patients are told

about HIV status only if they want to know. However, not many are

forthcoming. And in the absence of knowledge many people remain

affected even though they can be treated in time, " said K. Sujatha

Rao.

Government is also planning to have a cost regulatory system for HIV

testing. While the HIV testing in government hospitals is free, it

costs about Rs300 in private health centres. HIV patients will be

provided a National Health Card which would enable them to access

Anti-Retroviral Therapy from any part of the country.

Meanwhile, in order to make the campaign against HIV/AIDS more

aggressive, the Union health ministry is joining hands with various

ministries. Dhabas along the national highways, hotels and even

offices will be provided with condom vending machines while trucks

and buses will carry the HIV/AIDS awareness messages.

Similar messages will also be displayed in railways stations. A

special train called Red Ribbon Express will take the campaign to

the remote areas of the country. The Express, having seven coaches,

will cover 30,000 villages across 180 stations. These coaches will

also have Voluntary Counselling and Testing Centre where blood

samples will be tested.

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