Is HIV-Screened Blood Safe?

BY Awaken! WRITER IN NIGERIA

 THIS question came to the fore in Nigeria when it is discovered that a baby girl appeared to be infected with HIV through the blood transfusion she received at one of Nigeria's main hospitals.
According to the hospital's professional medical director, soon after Eniola's delivery, she was found to get jaundiced. An exchange blood stream transfusion was prescribed, and also the father donated quite a few units of our blood. But the father's blood was found to be incompatible, therefore blood from the hospital's blood vessels bank was applied. Before long, the baby examined positive for Human immunodeficiency virus, though both parents examined negative. According to the healthcare facility, "the blood transfused into the toddler was screened and located to be HIV-negative at the time it was transfused into the baby."
How, after that, did the baby find infected. The Nigerian authorities investigated the controversy plus concluded that the likely source of the infection appeared to be the transfused blood. The actual Nigerian Tribune newspaper quoted a virologist as saying: "At some time of donating your blood, the contributor was at the windows period of HIV infection."
This is but 1 case, yet the item highlights the fact that blood transfusions are not risk free. Conveying the HIV home window period, the You.S. Centers for Disease Control as well as Prevention says: "It may take some time for the body's defense mechanisms to produce enough antibodies for your antibody test to identify and this time period will vary from person to person. This time period of time is commonly referred to as your 'window period'. Most people will develop detectable antibodies within 2 to 8 weeks (the average is actually 25 days). Having said that, there is a chance that some individuals will take more time to develop detectable antibodies. . . . With very rare cases, it usually takes up to 6 months."
So, the belief that blood has been screened-in for HIV isn't a guarantee that it is safe. The San Francisco Products Foundation warns: "Although Aids may not be detected by a test during the windowpane period, HIV can be transmitted during that period. In fact, individuals are usually most infectious during this period (shortly after they have been in contact with HIV)."
Jehovah's Witnesses have prolonged followed the Bible's way to "keep abstaining from . . . body." (Acts 16:29) The protection it's afforded them underscores the wisdom connected with obeying God's guidelines. To learn more about alternatives to blood transfusion, please see the sales brochure How Can Blood Save Your Life?

Published by Jehovah's Witnesses.