HIV: Implications for Blood Transfusion and Banking in Africa

Abstract

African countries with an appreciable HIV problem receive assistance in screening blood for HIV antibodies as part of WHO's Global Program on AIDS (GPA). This article describes the health problems with blood transfusions and offers suggestions on ways to minimize the prevalence of HIV in blood banks. Ways to minimize blood transfusions include appropriate use of plasma volume expanders and electrolyte solutions. Stopping the practice of using soldiers and prisoners as group blood donors and substituting secondary school students as donors was recommended to prevent HIV contamination of the blood banks. Since HIV antibody tests are being improved and simplified, HIV test kits should not be ordered too far in advance. To verify a positive test, the use of 2 differently manufactured ELISA tests on each positive blood sample was recommended because most African labs do not have the expertise or money to do Western blot analysis. Testing facilities were advised to tell blood donors with donated HIV positive blood that they were infected and hopefully this would help minimize the possibility that the infected individual would infect others.