HIV fear has them SMSing for ‘known’ blood

MUMBAI: It’s almost like a chain mail, only more sobering. E-mails and SMSes are increasingly functioning as SOS flashes for families desperately looking for blood donors.
While blood banks are still the first port of call in emergency cases, families prefer known donors for planned surgeries that require blood transfusion. “Half my patients prefer to go in for a known person’s blood rather than from a blood bank,’’ says cardiologist B K Goyal.
Needless to say, the biggest fear propelling people towards ‘known’ blood is the HIV virus.Though all blood used for transfusion has to be tested for HIV, Hepatitis B and C, VDRL and malaria, none of the tests are conclusive thanks to the incubation period.
“The incubation period for most of these diseases ranges from a few hours for malaria to six months for HIV,’’ points out HIV specialist Shashank Joshi. “Most people thus think it’s safer to use the blood of someone they know.’’
And what better way to spread the message than to use neo-tech? Not surprisingly, ‘Blood Wanted’ e-mails and SMSes have become increasingly common. Narendra Desai, a businessman, followed the SMS route when he needed to stock AB negative blood, a rare group, for his three-month old son’s surgery. “My friend’s father got Hepatitis ‘C’ after a transfusion,’’ he says.
Mr Desai did not even bother to find out whether his son’s blood group was available at blood banks. “I did not want to take any chances, particularly as my son is too young. I eventually found my neighbour had the same group; he was healthy and had no bad habits,’’ he says.
Jimmy Mogal, a communications professional, who had heard stories of infections creeping in through borrowed blood, also went scouting for an O-negative blood donor among friends when a relative was due for a lung cancer surgery. “We insisted on getting blood from people we knew,’’ he says.
However, blood banks scoff at this cautious approach, and point out that they take all safeguards to ensure that their stock of bloodbags is as safe as it can possibly be.
In fact, they insist that blood from a relative is more risky. An official at a blood bank cites the instance of a mother getting HIV after she was given her son’s blood. “He didn’t know how to refuse to give blood for his mother. The mother is now paying for it,’’ he says.
Dr N.K. Naidu, medical director of the Indian Red Cross Society blood bank, corroborates the point. “We totally discourage intra-family donations,’’ he says.
“First, most relatives will not confess to high-risk behaviour, if any. Secondly, there is a huge risk of a patient’s body reacting to a close relative’s blood—this is known as the graft vs host disease (GVHD).’’
Moreover, “known’’ blood is as much of an infection risk as blood from banks, Dr Joshi says. “No blood is foolproof,’’ he declares. “It is a myth perpetuated by TV serials and cinema that known blood is safe.’’
There are 22 possible bloodborne infections like pneumonia and malaria that can be passed on through a transfusion, irrespective of whether the blood is from a bank or family. Thankfully, experts say, the risk is marginal.
One more issue: all the trouble of finding a safe donor may not really be worth it as there is no guarantee that the patient gets the blood donated for him. “Most hospitals follow the FIFO (first-in-first-out) principle,’’ says secretary of the Federation of Bombay Blood Banks, Dr Neelam Nijhara.
“They may not respect a patient’s demand that only blood donated by his relative or friend be used for blood transfusion.’’