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Testing Yourself - Home Test System Is Available AIDS is a serious disease that can be fatal. You can determine if you are infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV-1), the virus that causes AIDS, by taking a test for the presence of antibodies to the virus. A sample for testing can now be collected in your own home. Same day HIV and AIDS Test Results, blood test kits. There are a number of different HIV home collection test systems and kits that have appeared on the market, available through the Internet and through magazine or newspaper promotions. However, only one HIV-1 Home Collection Test System is currently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Home HIV-1 Test System manufactured by Health Corporation. The other HIV-1 home test kits being advertised have not been approved by the FDA for use and marketing in the United States. These unapproved HIV home blood test kits claim to detect antibodies to HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, in blood or saliva, providing results in the home in fifteen minutes or less. Are all HIV-1 home blood tests the same? DIY Blood Typing Test Kit - rh Blood, eldoncard Blood Test, eldon Card Blood testing, Blood type o, Blood type a, Blood type ab, Blood type b positive, negative Blood type, and Do it yourself Blood tests. Best Prices on the internet. Discount Blood Testing. A few simple questions and answers might help to explain how they differ, and how to select a test that you can trust.
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Because the Home Access test consists of multiple components, including materials for specimen collection, a mailing envelope to send the specimen to a laboratory for analysis, and includes pre- and post-test counseling, it is considered a testing system. This approved system uses a simple finger prick process for home blood collection which results in dried blood spots on special paper. The dried blood spots are mailed to a laboratory with a confidential and anonymous personal identification number (PIN), and analyzed by trained clinicians in a certified medical laboratory using the same procedures that are used for samples taken in a doctor's office. The results are obtained by the purchaser through a toll free telephone number using the PIN, and post-test counseling is provided by telephone when results are obtained. The advertisers of the unapproved HIV home test kits claim that the presence of a visual indicator, such as a red dot, within 5 to 15 minutes of taking the test shows a positive result for HIV infection. These unapproved test kits use a simple finger prick process for home blood collection or a special sponge device for saliva collection. The blood or saliva sample is then added to a plastic testing device containing a special type of paper. A developing solution is added to determine if the sample is positive for HIV from the blood test kits. The samples are not sent to a laboratory for professional analysis. Although this approach may seem faster and simpler, it may provide a less accurate result than can be achieved using an approved test, which is analyzed under more controlled conditions than is possible in the home. Q. How reliable are the unapproved HIV home test kits?
None of the unapproved tests have undergone the intense scrutiny and validation required for FDA marketing approval. Although unapproved tests might be promoted as sensitive and reliable, the consumer has no guarantee that the results produced by the test are, in fact, accurate. Even if they have been tested by independent laboratories, they have not been analyzed and validated by the FDA to assure that the test results were correct and reliable. BloodTestKit.com is unaware of any data to confirm the reliability or accuracy of the process used in the unapproved HIV home test kits. |
last updated 07/25/2007 bloodtestkit.com
