HIV+ donors to be sent to counselling and testing centres

Mumbai: Owing to the huge gap between patients tested for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and those who return for further treatment with regard to HIV, the Mumbai District AIDS Control Society (MDACS) has come up with a new policy asking blood banks to send patients to the nearest Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTCs).

The MDACS has informed all blood banks in the city that all blood donors who have tested positive for HIV have to regularly visit these centres for further treatment. MDACS officials said that it was the need of the hour to upgrade the blood donor referral system post donation camps. Dr Srikala Acharya, additional project director, MDACS, said, “We have instructed blood banks to refer HIV positive blood donors to an ICTC, that is the nearest to the patient’s residence.”

 “A significant gap was noted between HIV positive donors and the number of such infected people actually visiting the ICTC for treatment,” Dr Acharya said. “All 51 ICTC centres in the city are linked to the nearest blood banks so that we can keep tabs on patients’ treatment. However, during these camps, 0.2 to 0.5 per cent of the patients test positive for HIV,” sheadded.