HIV Seroconversion in blood donors from the coordinating blood bank in the State of Pará

BACKGROUND: Transfusion of Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected blood is probably the most effective means of transmission of this disease. Despite intense efforts and investment to ensure safety, transmission of HIV still remains a real possibility in the transfusion service due to the fact that routine laboratory tests in most Brazilian government blood banks rely on the detection of antibodies. This leaves an immunological window period of from 16 to 22 days, which could be minimized to approximately 9 to 11 days if nucleic acid amplification tests were employed in screening. OBJECTI...