The Battle Against AIDS—Will It Be Won?

AIDS How to Fight It

At present there is no cure for AIDS, and medical science appears unlikely to find one soon. While new treatments delay the progression of the disease, it is far better to avoid infection in the first place. Before we discuss prevention, however, let us consider how the AIDS virus (HIV) is and is not passed from person to person.
A person may be infected in four primary ways:

Blood Transfusions—How Safe?

Before submitting to any serious medical procedure, a thinking person will learn the possible benefits and the risks. What about blood transfusions? They are now aprime tool in medicine. Many physicians who are genuinely interested in their patients may have little hesitation about giving blood. It has been called the
gift of life.

Millions have donated blood or have accepted it. For 1986-87 Canada had 1.3 million donors in a population of 25 million. "[In] the most recent year for which figures are available, between 12 million and 14 million units of blood were used in transfusions in the United States alone."—The New York Times, February 18, 1990.