VCT vs BLOOD DONATION

  

VOLUNTARY COUNSELING and TESTING for HIV

VERSUS

 BLOOD DONATION

I heard a lot of stories of people who donate blood for the purpose of knowing their HIV Status. Well on my opinion they are doing it the wrong way. In this topic I will discuss about Voluntary Counseling and Testing for HIV vs. Blood Donation

Rapid HIV Test Kit

VOLUNTARY COUNSELING and TESTING  for HIV

            is a procedure done to a person who voluntary submits himself/herself to be screened for HIV. This Procedure is done by a trained VCT Counselor who does the Pre- and Post-Test Counseling. Counseling before and after an HIV test is important because it provides critical information about HIV itself and about the testing process. While counseling services may not be available in all health care settings, many testing sites do offer these services. If you would like access to pre-test and post-test counseling, be sure to inquire about the availability of these services at your chosen test site. If they do not have them readily available, the staff may be able to direct you to alternate service providers who do.

Pre-test counseling sessions generally include the following:

• Information about the HIV test—what it tests for, what it might NOT tell you, and how long it will take you to get your results
• Information about how HIV is transmitted and how you can protect yourself from infection
• Information about the confidentiality of your test results
• A clear, easy-to-understand explanation of what your test results mean

After Pre-Test Counseling the HIV Counselor will direct you to a HIV Proficient Medical Technologist and he/she will extract blood for it to be screened for HIV.

Anonymous HIV testing is a procedure whereby the identity of the individual being tested is protected or not known. Two methods of anonymous HIV testing are the unlinked anonymous and the voluntary anonymous.

Any person who submits to anonymous HIV testing shall not be required to provide a name, age, address or any other information that may potentially identify the same. In the case of voluntary anonymous HIV testing an identifying symbol is substituted for the person’s true name or identity. The symbol enables the laboratory doing the test and the test person to match the test result with the said symbol.

Once the results are available, you will usually be given the results in private and in person. (THE CLIENT SHOULD BE THE FIRST ONE TO SEE WHAT THE RESULT IS AND IF HE/SHE WANTS TO VERIFY IT THEN HE/SHE COULD HAND IT OVER TO THE COUNSELOR FOR THEM TO INTERPRET THE RESULT.)

Post-test counseling generally includes:

• Clear communication about what your test result means
• HIV prevention counseling, if your results are negative
• A confirmatory test, called a Western blot test, if your results are positive. The results of that test should be available within 2-3 weeks.
• Proper referral to Treatment Hub to access mostly FREE SERVICES

 
 

 VCT FLOW (if specimen is POSITIVE)

TESTING ALGORHYTHM

   

BLOOD DONATION

            occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for transfusions.

STEPS ON BLOOD DONATION

• Have your weight taken.
• Register and honestly and complete the donor registration form.
• Have your blood type and hemoglobin checked.
• A physician will conduct a blood donor examination.
• Actual donation--the amount of blood to be donated (either 350cc or 450cc) will depend on the donor's weight and blood pressure. It usually takes 10 minutes or less.
• A 5 to 10 minute rest and plenty of fluid-intake are necessary after donation.

In the screening process, you have to fill out a blood donation questionnaire form that includes direct questions about behaviors known to carry a higher risk of blood-borne infections—infections that are transmitted through the blood. These behaviors include prostitution, intravenous drug use and others. Each unit of blood collected will be examined for 5 transfusion-transmissible infectious diseases, namely: HIV, Malaria, Syphillis, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C before it is transfused to patients. A trained physician will be asking you about your medical/ health history, and a physical examination will be conducted—which includes checking your blood pressure, pulse and temperature. All of the information from this evaluation is kept strictly confidential.

During your blood donation screening procedure, a small sample of blood taken from a finger prick is used to check your hemoglobin level, the oxygen-carrying component of your blood. If your hemoglobin concentration is normal, and you've met all the other screening requirements, you can donate blood.

Donated Blood that tests positive for HIV is sent to Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for it to be recorded and then DISPOSED RIGHT AWAY WITHOUT NOTIFYING THE CLIENT.

As a Summary Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT), the CLIENT is screened for HIV while in Blood Donation the BLOOD is the one screened for Sexually Transmissible Infection including HIV.

Implications for getting screened for HIV through BLOOD DONATION is that you won't be informed of your Status and so it's still possible that you will do the same risky behavior and probably would be able to transmit it to other people unknowingly. Also the Blood that you donated if it would reveal a FALSE NEGATIVE result because of the WINDOW PERIOD would also be a danger to the recipient (Good thing that screening for blood nowadays have been very updated , they use the ANTIGEN TEST wherein as early as 3weeks would already detect HIV). And with you being unaware of your HIV Status would result to serious complications in the future and could even lead to DEATH.

A WORD OF ADVISE: 

KNOW YOUR STATUS ( HIV + or HIV - ? )
BE RESPONSIBLE ( Abstinence, Be Faithful to Uninfected partner, Correct and Consistent Condom Use, Don't Share Used Needles/Syringes)

GET TESTED ( If you have doubts about your HIV Status, it's better to submit yourself for VCT  in about 3months from your last risky behavior, NEVER DONATE BLOOD for the purpose of knowing your HIV Status )

KNOW THE FACTS ( Education & Early Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Infection )

 

Sources:

http://aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/prevention/hiv-testing/pre-post-test-counseling/

http://www.redcross.org.ph/blooddonationfaqs

 
Jake Positive. BE SAFE! +)