Solid phase red cell adherence immunoassay for anti-HIV 1: a simple, rapid, and accurate method for donor screening

In technically developed countries in which acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a risk to the recipients of blood or tissue, it is mandatory to screen the donor for evidence of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection. Current tests, based on enzyme-linked immunoassay, are time-consuming and expensive and as such are unsuitable for developing countries. We describe a second generation test using anti-human IgG coupled to red cells as the indicator of antibody having reacted with test antigen (1). The test is complete within ten minutes, simple to perform and to read and has 100% sensitivity and 99% specificity compared with Western blot. It is ideal for the rapid screening of organ donors and for the screening of blood donors where cost is a major consideration.