Page 4, Out in the Mountains  

Donating Blood: Should You or Not?

People at increased risk for AIDS
should continue to refrain from donating
blood, and should not use blood donations
as a method of having the antibody test
done.

For several years, the Red Cross and
other blood banks have asked that people
belonging to groups with higher incidences
of HIV infection not donate blood. Gay
and bisexual men, IV drug users, and sexual
partners of people in these groups, among
others, have had an excellent record of
voluntary compliance with this request.

Despite the fact that donated blood is
now being tested to detect antibodies to
HIV, the need for not donating remains.
Likewise, a blood donation center is not an
appropriate means for learning antibody
status.

The reason for this policy is the
continuing need to keep the blood supply as
free as possible from HIV infection.
Because the test includes some false
negatives, and because there is a lag time
which varies from several weeks to several
months for the development of antibodies
after exposure to the actual virus, the test is
not foolproof. To keep as much of this
blood as possible from sneaking through, the
need for voluntary compliance remains.

The Alternative Test Site system (ATS)
was set up to provide a way for people who
wanted to know their antibody status to do
so without using blood donation centers.
Because of the counselling, information and
anonymity provisions of ATS, it is a far
better way to be tested.

One key difference is that blood tested
by the Red Cross is identified by name.
Although they have an excellent record of
maintaining confidentiality and a very
elaborate security mechanism to guard
names, it is not an anonymous system.

"Vermont has such an excellent
alternative test site system with safeguards
built in at every step, that no one who
thinks they may have been exposed to the

virus should even have to think about
putting others at risk of infection by
donating blood to find out their test results"

said Terje Anderson, Executive Director of
Vermont C.A.R.E.S.

The Red Cross has taken great pains to
develop deferral systems which are
comfortable and non-embarrassing for people
at risk. Rather than asking "are you gay?
do you use drugs?", they provide a list of
categories of people who are asked to not
donate. If you fall into one of those
categories, you simply check the box at the
bottom which indicates that you should not
donate. No big fuss is made, and no
attention is drawn to you.

Recently they have also developed a
mechanism for people who come under
pressure to donate in a group setting (an
office, for example). Recognizing that it
could be difficult for someone to decline to
donate in front of a group of co-workers

HIV Positive Support Group

Have you tested positive on the HIV
antibody test?‘ Do you feel alone and
isolated because of it? Do the rest of your
friends not really understand what it feels
like? Would you like to talk with other
people who are going through the same
thing?

Vermont C.A.R.E.S. sponsors a support
group for people with HIV positive tests. It
meets weekly, and is open to anyone who
has tested positive. Members, in complete
confidentiality, meet and talk about the
issues we face living seropositive. The
environment is supportive, honest, and
friendly.

If you are interested in joining the
group, or have other concerns about testing
positive that you would like to talk with
someone about, contact Terje at Vermont
C.A.R.E.S. at 863-2437.

AZT Heralds Many Questions

BY TERJE ANDERSON

Many headlines heralded the FDA’s
approval this spring of azidothymodine
(AZT) as an AIDS treatment drug.

The decision, which was made rapidly
after clinical trials showed dramatic
improvements among many people with
AIDS who were being treated with AZT
experimentally, has prompted many to think
that a cure is at hand. Unfortunately, this
is not the case.

AZT, manufactured by Burroughs
Wellcome Co., a major pharmeceutical firm,
is the first drug for treatment of AIDS
which was deemed effective enough to be
widely used.

AZT seems to interfere with the ability
of HIV to survive and reproduce in the

immune system. Although it does not
rebuild a damaged immune system, some
patients taking AZT have shown‘ dramatic
improvement in measurements of immune
system function. Clinical trials reported
fewer opportunistic infections and deaths in
a group taking AZT than in a control group
given a placebo. (The trial was stopped
after preliminary results became available - it
was viewed as unethical to continue giving
placebos to some while the drug seemed to
show effectiveness. The Food and Drug
Administration "fast-tracked" approval to
make AZT available outside of an
experimental setting.)

The decision to approve was not met
with a universally positive receptiqn._ Among
the questions which arose were the toxicity

and friends, they provide a box which can
be checked in private which says, in essence,
"you may draw my blood for appearances
sake, but please throw it away without
testing it after I leave here." It is an
innovative and important step in protecting
both individual privacy and the blood supply.

"Blood banks and high risk communities
have worked hard to understand each other
and build a system of voluntary deferrals"
says Anderson, "We need to work to
continue that good relationship, and to ask
high risk individuals to continue to defer
from donating blood and from using blood
banks as a testing means."

For more information on blood donations
and testing contact:

Vermont C.A.R.E.S. (802) 863-2437
Vermont AIDS Hotline 1-800-882-AIDS
Red Cross (802) 65846400

Worried Well

Are you worried about AIDS? Do
you think about it all of the time? Has it
gotten in the way of enjoying your life? Do
you have trouble adjusting to changes_,in
your sex life that AIDS may require? Do
you sometimes convince yourself that you
have AIDS, even if it is just a cold?

AIDS is frightening, and many of us
deal with AIDS anxiety as part of our daily
lives. To help deal with those fears Vermont
C.A.R.E.S. will be offering a "Worried Well"
support group beginning in late October.

The group will meet five times, on
Tuesday evenings, beginning October 20th.
It will be facilitated by Walter Zeichner, a
Burlington counsellor, and will provide an
opportunity to address your concerns and
turn your fears into positive actions in a
supportive environment.

Enrollment is limited, and advance
registration is required. To sign up, or find
out more, contact Vermont C.A.R.E.S. at
863-2437.

of the drug, the lack of thorough trials to
determine effectiveness and safety, the high
cost, who will have access to AZT, and the
unavailability of other experimental drugs.

AZT has been shown to have heavily
toxic effects on some people who take it:
anemia and bone marrow suppression,
requiring frequent transfusions, are one
effect. Many using the drug report severe
nausea and headaches. It seems that the
more sick a person is when they start taking
the drug, the more likely they are to have a
negative reaction. Some taking AZT report
virtually no side effects.

The lack of long term studies means

that there is no idea of the long term
safety; some researchers fear that there may
be severe damage to major internal organs
from taking the drug for a long period.

continued, page 6