Donors Wanted to Help, but Some Blood Rejected As Infected

Hundreds of people in Michigan and in other parts of the country who donated blood for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks may soon find out their contribution was rejected because of infection. Most tainted blood comes from first-time donors, and nearly 65 percent of people who gave blood in the days after the attacks were new donors, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Each unit of donated blood is put through a series of 12 tests screening for HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis and other antigens. HIV shows up in one of every 50,000 to 200,000 donations. Hepatitis is slightly more common, showing up in one of every 10,000 to 50,000 donations, depending on the virus, said Brooke Doherty, spokesperson for America's Blood Centers, an association of the independent blood banks that collect half of the nation's blood supply.

No one is sure yet how many recent donors are infected. Blood banks have been overwhelmed for the past three weeks with donations. "With such an outpouring of community response to the disaster, there's bound to be at least twice as many folks who turn up with negative results," said Rick Rolls, infectious disease counselor with the American Red Cross Great Lakes Region. "It's hard to tell them that. They were just trying to do good." Most people he has had to tell have been shocked, but generally have expressed displeasure because their donations could not be used, Rolls said.

Contacting infected donors is standard practice for blood banks, and their status is kept confidential. Donors who are confirmed positive for HIV will meet with Rolls. Letters and calls are sent to donors whose blood showed signs of other infectious diseases.

Back to other CDC news for October 4, 2001

Previous Updates