Possibly no structural issue in blood banking is as problematic as that of service "territory." The Regionalization Program of the American Blood Commission has worked with numerous regions in an effort to achieve a rational resolution of territorial issues. This paper discusses approaches utilized by these regions and results achieved. It provides a discussion of an alternate model that facilitates resolution of some problems. This information may be beneficial to regions that encounter similar problems.

Blood Banks↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Use of an enzyme immunoassay for detection of antibody to human immunodeficiency virus in low risk populations.

Antibody to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was detected by an enzyme immunoassay (Genetic Systems LAV EIA) in low risk populations from five geographically distinct sites. The assay used virus (LAV) grown in the T-cell line CEM. In blood and plasma donor populations, 0.4 percent of the samples were initially reactive and 0.2 percent were repeatably reactive. Fourteen of the twenty-one (67 percent) repeatably reactive specimens were confirmed by immuneprecipitation (RIP). The assay demonstrated 99.9 percent specificity compared to RIP and had a positive predictive value of 67 percent. The data suggest that this test generates a low proportion of false positive EIA results and is highly suitable to screen blood donors.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗