DUSHANBE, January 25, Asia-Plus – Non-fulfillment of requirements of quarantining of donor blood may cause an outbreak of HIV infections because people may be contaminated with HIV during blood transfusion.
Deputy Health Minister, Azam Mirzoyev, said in an interview with Asia-Plus that because of the window period the donor blood should be preserved for three months and after that repeated tests should be made. “And only after that the donor blood may be used,” the deputy minister said.
The window period is the length of time after infection that it takes for a person to develop enough specific antibodies to be detected by current testing methods. If an individual engages in unsafe sex or shares drug injection equipment and becomes infected, the body will make antibodies to fight HIV. When enough antibodies are developed, the HIV antibody test will come back positive. Each person”s body responds to HIV infection a little differently, so the window period varies slightly from person to person. HIV is most commonly diagnosed in adolescents and adults through HIV antibody testing.
“However, this mechanism is not yet working properly in Tajikistan because long keeping of the donor blood requires expensive equipment, which costs some $3 million,” said Mirzoyev, “The Republican National Blood Center does not have such funds.”
According to him, a number of blood donors has sharply decreased over the past decade and today most of those acting as blood donors are homeless. “In order to provide a certain safety it has been decided to select people wanting to donate blood,” said Mirzoyev, “That is body of person wanting to donate blood should be examined whether it has traces of pricks, etc.”
Mirzoyev stressed that the donor blood is tested for all types of hepatitis.
Speaking about measures taken to prevent contamination with HIV and other infections during blood transfusion, the Tajik health official noted that they are currently preparing a resolution banning direct transfusion from human to human without HIV/AIDS, malaria, and hepatitis “A”, “B” and “C” tests.
Meanwhile, Mirzoyev refrained from answering question if there were cases in Tajikistan when person was contaminated with HIV during blood transfusion.
According to official data, there are more than 700 HIV-sufferers in Tajikistan. However, experts that actual number of people living with HIV in Tajikistan is much higher that official figures show.
