DOH closely monitoring blood units for HIV contamination

Amid reports that blood contaminated with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was donated and had been transfused into a patient, the Department of Health (DOH) assured the public that donated blood units in hospitals are safe for transfusion. In a press briefing on Monday, Health Secretary Dr. Enrique Ona said they are currently investigating reports of HIV-contaminated blood units donated in blood banks, adding that a report will be made available to the public within the week. Last week, the Philippine HIV-AIDS Registry reported that one recent HIV case recorded in the country acquired the virus through blood transfusion. However, the DOH said this is not confirmed yet and they are currently looking into the matter. Ona assured the public that donated blood undergo several levels of testing before it is transfused into a person. He said a donor will be tested for HIV before he donates, and the donated blood will again be tested for HIV before it is transfused into a patient. He said some HIV-positive donors are sometimes able to donate blood because of a two-week "window period," when the HIV virus does not immediately manifest itself in a person and does not show up in tests within the first two weeks that the person acquired the virus. For example, Ona said that a person who had sex with an HIV-positive person and has acquired the virus may donate blood within a week and test negative for HIV, when in fact that person is already infected. He said the DOH gets reports of HIV-contaminated blood donated in blood banks, but these units are discarded immediately and are not transfused anymore. In an interview with Unang Balita on Tuesday, DOH National Epidemiology Center Director Dr. Eric Tayag said there have only been 20 HIV cases since 1984 where the mode of transmission was through blood transfusion. The most common modes of transmission are through sexual intercourse, sharing of needles, and mother-to-child transfusion, Tayag said. Tayag said the Health Department is closely monitoring all the blood banks that are under the DOH. He added that private and commercial blood banks are no longer in operation and that having private blood banks would only make their task of monitoring blood units harder. Meanwhile, the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) said they are confident that blood bags coming from their organization have been tested for HIV and are negative for the virus before it gets released. In an interview on GMA News TV's State of the Nation on Tuesday, PNRC secretary-general Gwendolyn Pang said blood bags coming from the PNRC may be retested for HIV at the hospital if the recipient wants to be extra sure that it is negative for HIV. However, retesting costs P3,000 and will be shouldered by the patient who wants to do the retest. The Red Cross also discourages the practice of some hospitals where patients are encouraged to bring relatives or friends who will donate blood in exchange of blood bags that are released for the patient. This practice is not advisable because the patient may end up bringing someone he does not know personally, who may end up being HIV-positive and donating contaminated blood, Pang said. — RSJ, GMA News