CAS's Reaction to Judgment in Blood Donor Case
According to the Canadian AIDS Society (CAS), the court decision requiring the Red Cross to report the names of HIV-positive blood donors will make HIV prevention more difficult.[1]
Brian Huskins, president of CAS, noted that CAS is very disappointed with the judgment: "People who never consented to be tested for HIV in the first place will have their names reported to the state. Reporting their names will not serve the public good when it comes to HIV prevention because forced disclosure has the effect of discouraging people from coming forward for testing."
According to Huskins, the decision will make AIDS prevention more difficult: "We know from a lot of experience that offering people a supportive, voluntary environment for HIV testing is the only way to encourage long term prevention. We're concerned about the precedent this sets for other HIV testing and, indeed, for non-consensual testing for other purposes."
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ENDNOTE
[1]CAS. Ruling on Blood-Samples Setback for HIV Prevention, Says AIDS Society. Ottawa: The Society, news release dated 8 August 1995.