Materia Medica Malaysiana

Stringent checks on blood quality in banks

The Health Ministry is working to enhance the quality of blood flowing into blood banks throughout the country.
"We will ensure strict screening, including interviews with blood donors to check their background," Health Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Lee Kah Choon said here today.
He added that most of the contaminated blood in blood banks was caused by HIV-positive victims who passed them on through blood donation campaigns.
These people, embarrassed about going for HIV tests, chose the easy way out by donating blood to determine their medical condition.
"The blood samples can only be detected after laboratory procedures are done," he said.
Besides, blood donation campaigns were not necessarily held in hospitals. Most were usually organised by non-governmental organisations and held at their premises or in community centres, Lee said.
"We have now introduced tests for HIV victims where they need not divulge their personal particulars. The results will be known within 15 minutes.
"If positive, we will provide medical advice to them."
Lee was commenting on reports that 200 HIV-positive people had been regular blood donors.
The ministry had recently admitted that some of the blood in blood banks could be contaminated with the HIV virus.