I.V. Drug Abusers Continue to Donate Blood, Plasma: Study

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(BLOOD DONATION AND HIV)
began. Of these, 385 (88.1 percent) had donated at a commercial plasma center and
52 (11.9 percent) had donated at a blood bank.
Although a history of plasma donation was common among the intravenous drug users
studied, the HIV-1 seroprevalence declined substantially over time, the authors
report. The seroprevalence was 17.1 percent in those who last donated in 1985;
among users who last donated in 1988-1989, the seroprevalence dropped to 3.6
percent. But "the continued dondtion of plasma among intravenous drug users is
cause for some concern," the researchers write.
Nearly 90 percent of the study participants had donated at commercial plasma
centers--which typically paid $10 to $15 per donation--rather than at blood banks.
Because of the low socioeconomic status of the drug users studied, "it seems
likely that the major motivation for donation in this population was economic,"
the authors conclude.
"In our opinion, the most efficient method for minimizing the risks of
transmission of HIV-1 and other infectious agents by blood and blood components
would be to discontinue payment of plasmapheresis donors," they say. "However, it
is extremely unlikely that a completely voluntary system of plasma donation would
meet the demand for components."
The authors call for better education, more precise screening tests, and more
effective notification and counseling of plasma donors who test positive for HIV1. Potential donors who have needle tracks should be excluded more effectively by
those who draw blood at plasma centers, they say.