Low chance of getting HIV from transfusion
Friday, May 03, 2002 Lynne Altenroxel The Star, April 23 2002. Reprinted courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
More blood transfusion patients are likely to experience complications from getting the wrong blood type than are likely to contract HIV. Given the country's high HIV prevalence rate - one in four adults - officials say it is "remarkable" that HIV-infected blood is not more of a problem.
The risk of contracting the deadly virus, in theory, is one in 100 000, according to the South African National Blood Service, which released its first-ever report into medical complications among blood transfusion recipients on Monday.
The report deals with complications in the year 2000, when 881 673 units of blood products - including red cells, plasma and platelets - were used.
In that year, three unconfirmed cases of HIV transmission via blood taken from three donors were reported.
This excludes the infection of two babies the same year at the Red Cross Children's Hospital in Cape Town, which were only officially reported in 2001.
"This (low infection rate) is remarkable if one were to take into account the extent of the HIV and AIDS pandemic in South Africa," said medical director Dr Robert Crookes.
The service decided to release the highly technical report to correct the perception that the greatest risk from blood transfusion was contracting infectious diseases such as HIV.
"The greatest danger of a transfusion is linked to human error," said report co-author Dr Teresa Nel.
Human error includes giving patients the wrong blood type and mistakenly heating the blood in a microwave before transfusion, instead of immersing it in water warmed to body temperature (37°C).
The risk of being given the wrong blood type is one in 12 000.
Half of the 50 blood transfusion patients who suffered serious complications had allergic reactions to the blood. Another 15 were given the wrong blood type by mistake - and three of them died as a result.
One patient received incorrectly heated blood.
The three reported HIV infections are not included in the 50 serious cases because they remain unconfirmed.
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