Blood donation and human immunodeficiency virus infection: do new and regular donors present different risks?

Abstract

This paper examines some problems inherent in assessing the risk of trans­mitting infection through blood transfusion. Blood from a recently infected donor may transmit infection which may not be detected at the time of transfusion. Inferences about the degree of risk must be made from the in­cidence and prevalence of infection in the community at large, and from the number of donated units of blood in which evidence of infection is found. We address the particular problem of comparing the relative risk in two donor populations, the repeat donors who give blood on several occasions, and the single donors who give blood only once. Show more