AEGiS-2CROI [9]: Estimated risk of HIV transmission by screened blood in the United States

2nd National Conference Human Retroviruses and Related Infections

Washington, DC - January 29 - February 2, 1995

ESTIMATED RISK OF HIV TRANSMISSION BY SCREENED BLOOD IN THE UNITED STATES

Natl Conf Hum Retrovir Relat Infect 1995 Jan 29-Feb 2;2: (abstract no. 9)

Lackritz EM¹, Satten GA¹, Raimondi VP², Aberle-Grasse J³, Dodd RY³, Lewis WF³, Petersen LR¹
¹CDC, Atlanta, GA; ²Orkand Corp., Atlanta, GA; ³American National Red Cross, Rockville, MD

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the risk of HIV transmission by transfusion of HIV antibody-negative blood in the U.S.A., nationally and by geographic area.

METHODS: Records were analyzed from all blood donations made in 19 participating American National Red Cross (ARC) regions in 1992 and 1993. We calculated the risk of donation during the HIV-infectious window period for first-time and repeat donors, using current estimates of the third generation HIV 1-2 antibody test window period (25 days, 95% CI=9-41 days).

RESULTS: Of the 4.1 million donations, 78% were from repeat donors. Overall, 9.6/100,000 donations were HIV-antibody positive: 26.1/100,000 among first-time and 2.7/100,000 among repeat donors. Overall HIV incidence among repeat donors was 0.000037 per person-year, ranging from 0.000011 per person- year in the Midwest to 0.000081 per person-year in the Southeast. In the 19 centers studied, the proportion of donations made during the infectious window period was 1 in 340,000 donations (95% CI=1 in 200,000 to 1 in 1,100,000): 1 in 220,000 among first-time donors and 1 in 400,000 among repeat donors. Risk varied by geographic region, ranging from 1 in 1,100,000 donations in Midwest to 1 in 150,000 in the Southeast. Since at least 20% of these infectious units would not have been transfused because they tested positive on other screening tests, the risk of HIV transmission by screened blood would be less than 1 in 420,000 units.

CONCLUSIONS: The estimated risk of HIV transmission by screened blood in the United States is small and is lower than earlier estimates.

Keywords: AIDS Vaccines, AIDS-Related Complex, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Blood Donors, Disease Transmission, Horizontal, HIV, HIV Antibodies, HIV Infections, HIV Seronegativity, HIV Seropositivity, HIV Seroprevalence, Incidence, Mass Screening, Red Cross, United States, blood, immunology, transmission

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1995-01-29
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