CDC recommends new guidelines for organ donor HIV screenings

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new recommendations this week stating that potential organ donors should be screened for both chronic and acute HIV infections as close to the date of transplant as possible.

The revised guidelines stem from a confirmed case of HIV infection that was spread from a kidney organ donor to another New York City hospital patient.

Although the donor tested negative for the sexually transmitted disease (STD) just 10 weeks before the operation, the man later engaged in unprotected sex.

The CDC stated that HIV transmission through transplants is very uncommon due to the availability of blood testing.

However, unprotected sex is one of the most common behaviors that increases an individual's risk of contracting an STD.

Although the CDC estimates that more than 1.1 million Americans have HIV, 21 percent are undiagnosed. Only about 70 out of more than 50,000 new HIV infections each year are transmitted by means other than sexual contact or injection drug use, the organization reports.

Any individual who would like to be screened for STDs, including HIV, may consider using online testing services.