Materia Medica Malaysiana

Health Ministry Admits Blood Tests Not 100 Per Cent Fool-proof

KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 (Bernama) -- The Health Ministry admits that tests on blood for its blood bank are not 100 per cent fool-proof.
The ministry's parliamentary secretary, Lee Kah Choon, said that although thorough screening was conducted on the blood, results could not be obtained immediately because the hospitals were not using the latest technology.
He said the ministry was working to enhance the sensitivity of the tests for earlier detection of contaminated blood.
"But the cost is high because of the use of the latest technology," he said when replying to Datuk Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar (BN-Larut) who wanted to know the level of testing of blood for the blood bank following a news report that 200 HIV positive people had been regular blood donors.
According to the report, the donors of the contaminated blood were males aged between 30 and 40 who repeatedly gave blood but disappeared when attempts were made to contact them for counselling.
This had worried the National Blood Centre because it would cause millions of ringgit in losses.
Lee said that besides conducting blood tests, the hospitals also interviewed the donors to ensure that they led a healthy lifestyle and the blood they donated was not contaminated.
Asked to comment on the sale of blood to private hospitals, he said: "There's no such term as selling because the fee charged is for blood tests to ensure that the blood is clean and safe for use."
He said the private hospitals were charged RM20 for each pack of blood although the overall cost of the tests was RM85 and the government was subsidising RM65.