Some Blood Donors Not Entirely Candid

A study of nearly 35,000 blood donors found a small number failed to reveal risky behavior, such as unsafe sex and intravenous drug use.

The finding doesn’t signal a change in the safety of the nation’s blood supply but suggests that screening procedures should be reviewed, said lead researcher Alan Williams, a senior scientist for the American Red Cross.

Results of the study, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, are in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association.

All donated U.S. blood is tested for seven infectious disease factors, including HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, before it is released.

The study is based on information from surveys mailed to people who had donated blood in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Baltimore-Washington and Oklahoma City.