Apparently, more Taiwanese students are deciding to make the leap without putting on the necessary safety equipment.
Most HIV-positive blood donors are students: report
By Shelley Huang
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Jun 24, 2010, Page 2
The Taiwan Blood Services Foundation yesterday said that up to 40 percent of newly reported cases of HIV-positive blood donors were students.The foundation said that from January to March, 22 new blood samples collected from blood donation centers nationwide were found to be HIV positive. Of the newly reported cases, nine donors were still in school, accounting for the largest group of new HIV-positive donors at 40 percent.
When compared across age group, more than 86 percent of samples that tested positive for the virus came from those between 17 and 29 years old, said Lin Ming-chang (林敏昌), a director at the foundation.
The figures also showed that last year, one out of every three HIV-positive blood donors were students, surpassing the 22.5 percent who were in the military.
Lin voiced concern over the drop in the average age of people contracting the HIV virus.
“The number of young people contracting the HIV virus may be growing and is worthy of our attention,” he said.
At the same press conference yesterday, Taiwan AIDS Foundation publicized the results of a survey of adults living in Taiwan, which showed that about one out of every three respondents believed that only people who led unethical lifestyles would contract the HIV virus.
Nearly half of those surveyed said they normally did not pay attention to AIDS-related information or were not willing to work with people who have AIDS.
Foundation secretary-general Lin Chiung-chao (林瓊照) said that although condoms have been proven as an effective deterrent against AIDS and other forms of sexually transmitted diseases, only about 4 percent of parents surveyed said they had taught their children how to use them.
To avoid AIDS, it is important to have proper knowledge about the disease, avoid high-risk behavior and undergo regular screening, she said.