Blood safety in the age of AIDS

This series of essays was developed as part of FASEB's efforts to educate the general public and the legislators whom it elects about the benefits of fundamental biomedical research--particularly how investment in such research leads to scientific progress, improved health, and economic well-being. "Blood safety in the age of AIDS" examines the effects of the AIDS epidemic on the safety of the blood supply. Just as a pebble tossed in a lake sends out ripples that last long after the pebble sinks, the discovery more than a decade ago that the AIDS virus was in the blood supply is still having repercussions on research and transfusion practices. New screening tests for blood and new ways of using one's own blood during surgery are among the steps that have made blood transfusions much safer. Meanwhile, researchers continue tracking down new threats and devising ways to circumvent them.