TRANSFUSION-TRANSMITTED AIDS WITH BLOOD NEGATIVE FOR ANTI-HIV AND HIV-ANTIGEN

A four-year-old boy who was diagnosed with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia received supportive treatment and desmopressin for his bleeding episod es. He seldom received blood components, except for platelet concentra tes, due to severe bleeding. He was exposed to 18 routine donors and 2 plateletpheresis donors who were negative for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antigen and anti-HIV upon screening. At the age of 3 years and 9 months (4.5 months after the transfusion of platelet concentrat e), he developed full-blown AIDS and died from circulatory failure 3 m onths later. The source of HIV transmission was identified as 1 donor who developed anti-HIV 3 months after the last donation. The rather sh ort incubation time of AIDS in this case was attributed to a large ino culum of HIV virus in the 'window period' of infectivity of the newly infected donor. This case illustrates transfusion-transmitted HIV lead ing to AIDS, even though HIV antigen and anti-HIV screening tests were negative.