Philippines: HIV-Tainted Blood Donations Continue to Increase

The Philippine National AIDS Council posted data from the latest Philippine HIV/AIDS Registry on its Web site showing that the number of units of donated blood contaminated with HIV rose by 18 percent in 2012. The data, as recorded by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), showed that from January to August of 2012, there were 167 units of HIV-positive blood compared to approximately 142 units found in the same time period in 2011.

Arnel Ty of the LPG Marketers Association said of the increase in HIV-contaminated blood donations, "the rising figures clearly suggest that we have many HIV cases which remain undiagnosed and unreported." Ty is one of the authors of a proposed bill supporting a Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support Policy Act. The bill urges the Philippines to support its people living with HIV and to raise awareness of the disease. The Philippine HIV/AIDS Registry data also show that HIV cases, in general, are on the rise, which follows an ongoing trend for the last decade.

Back to other news for October 2012