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i would like to ask this question of an md or an hiv ...

Sent to Health Experts May 22 01:09 PM

i would like to ask this question of an md or an hiv specialist. I plan to donate blood but i had a tetanus shot yesterday and i am now concerned that my blood donation test may show that i have a false positive hiv test on my blood donation due to me having a tetanus shot as I read that a tetanus shot could cause a false positive reading on an hiv test.what is the case on this? Should I wait before donating or am I worrying over nothing?

 

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May 22 1:26 PM (16 minutes and 50 seconds later)
         
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Dr Amit Munjal -- Physician -- 99% Positive Feedback on 4229 Health Accepts
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May 22 1:36 PM (9 minutes and 58 seconds later)
         
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Dr Amit Munjal -- Physician -- 99% Positive Feedback on 4229 Health Accepts
B.A.M.S{Ayurveda Physician}Worked in various clinical departments like Medicine,ER,Gynae
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May 22 1:49 PM (13 minutes and 46 seconds later)
         
my credit card info has changed pleas advis
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May 22 1:50 PM (50 seconds later)
         
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I will ask one of our moderators to assist You .

With regards

Dr Amit Munjal



Please press the accept button if you find my comments useful.
The information provided herein is for educational purposes only .
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Dr Amit Munjal -- Physician -- 99% Positive Feedback on 4229 Health Accepts
B.A.M.S{Ayurveda Physician}Worked in various clinical departments like Medicine,ER,Gynae
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May 22 2:27 PM (37 minutes and 8 seconds later)
         
Relist: I prefer a second opinion.
i would like a response from a licensed physician or hiv specialist or a phlebotomist. i need a little rassurance that i can give blood after having a tetanus shot and not necessarily get a false positive reading. don't many people who have tetanus shots give blood and not get positive readings or do they have to wait a certain period of time. if i wait to give for six months what would be my chance of getting a false positive reading. if i got a false positive reading would the western blot automatically rule it out and aren't western blots done on all donated blood?
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May 22 2:46 PM (19 minutes and 1 second later)
         
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1 Other Expert Agrees with this!
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AnnlynnRN -- Nurse (RN) -- 99% Positive Feedback on 564 Health Accepts
RN - 13 years in ICU & Critical Care (Cardiac, Neurology, Trauma, & Medical/Surgical ICU.)
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May 22 2:56 PM (9 minutes and 28 seconds later)
         
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Hi,
I am a licensed physician MD, with practical experience of working with HIV patients as well. So since you have asked for a specific relist with an opinion from someone like me, let me try to assist you.
"Just because something is on the list that causes a positive HIV test doesn't mean that it will definitely, or even probably, cause a false-positive. It depends on what antibodies the individual carries; as well as the characteristics of each particular test kit."
This means that though a tetanus shot may cause a positive reaction on the ELISA test in a select minorty of patients, this is not likely to happen to each and everyone getting a tetanus shot. Kids have tetanus shots all the time and are rarely false positive for the same even on ELISA.
PLUS remember that a positive ELISA does not label you as HIV positive, a confirmatory WB (western blot) test is ordered (in the rare instance that you are false positive due to tetanus, this will come as negative) and you would be cleared in such a case.
You should ask the doctor / phlebotomist to mention the fact that you have had a recent tetanus shot on the blood donation form too.
All these factors will help mitigate any chances of you being falsely labelled as HIV positive,
All the best,

Please ACCEPT the reply (by pressing the GREEN accept button), and give a BONUS if it was useful. If you need more information, just let me know.
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Dr. Gupta

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May 22 3:02 PM (5 minutes and 55 seconds later)
         
more info needed from AnnlynnRn,please. are the confirmatory tests which would rule out a false positive hiv test due to a tetanus shot automatically done at the time of blood donation and how long should i wait to donate after having a tetanus shot to decrease my chances of getting a false positive in the first place? Also do you have many people who donate who have had recent tetnas shots and not had positive hiv test results?
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May 23 9:52 AM (18 hours and 49 minutes and 40 seconds later)
         
this is closed to further response
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