'When you give blood do they check for AIDS?'

our online advisors reply:

Every blood donation is tested for a number of possible infections including HIV (the virus that causes AIDS), hepatitis and syphilis. In the rare cases that problems are found, the National Blood Service does contact the donor, but the point of the tests is to protect people who need the blood, not to provide a testing service for donors.

You should never give blood as a way of finding out whether you have HIV, or any of the other infections that donated blood is tested for. There are two important reasons for this.

To start with, HIV tests do not always detect the early stages of infection. The test works by detecting antibodies to the virus and it can take three months for those antibodies to be produced by your immune system. If someone had recently picked up HIV and then gave blood they would be risking passing the virus on to someone having a transfusion. This is why you are asked so many questions before you can make a donation. You can read the pre-donation questionnaire on the Blood Service website, and there are links to pages listing who can, and cannot, give blood.

Secondly, getting the result of an HIV test can be a very stressful experience – even if the result is negative. Finding out you are positive can be devastating, and you would certainly need extra support. This is why official guidelines say that anyone having an HIV test should be offered counselling before and after the test, whatever the result.

The best place to go if you think you want to have an HIV test is a specialist sexual health clinic. Most clinics have experienced advisors who can talk with you about your worries before you finally decide to have the test, and then afterwards when you get the result. If it does turn out positive the advisor can help you decide what to do next. You can also be tested for other sexually transmitted infections, get more information on keeping yourself safe, and often get free supplies of condoms. You can find your nearest clinic at www.ssha.info/public/clinics/locations.asp or www.multimap.com/clients/places.cgi?client=fpa2.

You might have to wait a bit for a clinic appointment and it sounds like it might be helpful for you to have a chat with someone straight away. The Sexual Health Line – 0800 567 123 – is available 24 hours a day for anyone wanting more information about HIV, AIDS and other aspects of sexual health.

Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third party sites.