Infected blood/blood products

Blood transfusions

The risk of ever contracting HIV as a result of a blood transfusion or medical procedure in Jersey, is negligible thanks to the stringent screening procedures that were put into place after HIV was first identified. 90% of the blood supplies used in Jersey is donated locally, with the remaining 10% being imported from the UK.

Potential blood donors are required to answer an extensive battery of questions about their health, travels, sexual history, drug use and any body modifications such as piercing and tattooing. If they match the desired criteria, a blood sample is taken and then thoroughly tested for a range of infections including HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and Syphilis. The same tests are repeated after every donation.

More information about the blood service and blood donors is available from The National Blood Service.

Blood products

Many people are aware of the high-profile case of hundreds of Haemophiliacs who were infected with HIV in the 1980s after receiving the clotting agents Factor VIII and Factor IX, which had been unknowingly produced with contaminated blood supplies. All such supplies are now produced using blood that has been tested for HIV and is then subsequently heat-treated; a process that will destroy any infectious agents.

Jersey imports all its plasma and other blood products from the National Blood Service in the UK.

Blood transfusions abroad

Not all countries apply the same stringent screening procedures to their blood supplies as Jersey and the UK. Anyone who finds they need a blood transfusion whilst travelling abroad should attempt to find out whether local blood supplies have been tested for HIV before consenting to treatment. Prior to departure, travellers should seek health advice for the country/countries they will be visiting.

Up to date advice for travellers on a country-by-country basis can be obtained from the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) and NaTHNaC (The National Travel Health Network and Centre).

Could HIV enter bloodstocks?

There is only a very small theoretical risk of HIV entering the blood supply, if a donation were to be made during the short ’window-period’ between initial infection and the production of HIV antibodies. Although it may not be possible to accurately test blood for HIV during this stage, the pre-donation screening questions used by Blood Service staff are very effective at identifying anyone who might have been exposed to HIV recently. In these cases a donor will be asked to defer making a donation and to seek an HIV test.

To further eliminate the risk of HIV entering blood supplies, certain groups are permanently excluded from becoming blood donors because they are considered to be at high risk of infection. These groups are:

Any man who has ever had sex with another man (even once)
Anyone who has ever worked as a prostitute
Anyone who has ever injected drugs (even once)
Anyone infected with Hepatitis B or C

Who Can’t Give Blood
Position Statement on Exclusion of MSM as Blood Donors

Last updated April 2010