Blood to become dearer as NAAT becomes mandatory (Express Buzz)

 

Byju Aryad

23 November 2010

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi/blood-to-become-dearer-as-naat-becomes-mandator/225301.html

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KOCHI: The introduction of the fourth generation laboratory test, or Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT), for detecting HIV, which can identify the infection in no time, might increase the cost of blood bought from blood banks.

This is because NAAT is costly as the test might be Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500.At present, an HIV infected patient could be detected only after two or three weeks. The Elisa test, which is now being conducted for detection of HIV, is cheaper and thus 500 ml of blood could be bought from blood banks at a nominal cost of Rs 400 to Rs 500.

NAAT will be introduced at the Kochi IMA blood bank for the first time from next month. The facility for testing blood from private hospitals will also be undertaken by the IMA blood bank to ensure that the donor is infection free.

IMA blood bank secretary Dr Narayanan Kutty told Express that it is the presence of antibodies which is being detected through the Elisa test. The antibodies of an infected person can be found only after a period of time which can differ from person to person, causing the delay in diagnosis. There have been instances where during 'window period,' the time between HIV infection and the production of antibodies, the antibody may give a false negative result even though a person is infected with HIV. The window period could be reduced only with the NAAT or fourth generation test which is costly.

As the IMA blood bank is in the social service sector without making any profit, it could provide the blood after the NAAT at a cost of around `650. Narayanan Kutty said the cost of the test could be compensated to a certain extent with the charge realised from the lab testing for private hospitals. Though the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is yet to make it mandatory for all the states in the country, the metropolitan cities in India have introduced the same.

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi/blood-to-become-dearer-as-naat-becomes-mandator/225301.html

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