Q: My 38 years old friend donated blood a month back. and was again called to the blood bank just after a week of donating blood for another sample. He went and gave the blood sample nearly two weeks back. However, till date there has been no communication from the blood bank on any kind of test report. On speaking to the concerned pathologist he informed that the testing is underway and the results are yet to come. On going through various documents on blood banks and your site we understand that the sample is being tested for HIV. Now almost 12 days have passed but the results have not been communicated. Isn't there a time frame under which the results should come as the person concerned is under tremendous strain? Kindly advise.

A:Whenever a unit of donated blood tests positive for a transfusion transmitted infection (reactive donation), re testing is done. Confirmatory testing of initially reactive donations is required to distinguish between true positive and non-specific reactivity for managing positive donors so that they can be notified, counselled and referred for further ounselling or treatment and care. Donors who are confirmed positive should be notified, counselled and referred for clinical management as soon as possible. Even if only limited facilities are available, the blood transfusion service (BTS) has a duty of care to donors, their families and the general population as they may infect other individuals if they are not aware of their status. The BTS and relevant authorities are required to have a clear policy and systems to communicate with these donors to inform them of their status and minimize any risk of further transmission. The National Blood Policy of India states that a Counsellor in each blood centre shall be appointed for pre and post donation counselling and result seeking donors shall be referred to a Blood Testing Centre (BTC) for post donation information and counseling. Please contact the concerned centre and pursue the matter with them as they are required to do so.