23 Aug 2022

63

Anonymous Blood Testing

Format: APA

Academic level: College

Paper type: Term Paper

Words: 1337

Pages: 5

Downloads: 0

In the recent past, the test for the increasing infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDs has become necessary due to the increasing rate of the spread of the diseases globally affecting both the developed as well as the developing nations. Despite the fact that testing for HIV/AIDS is a voluntary process in some cases, the health practitioners might in some instances test for the diseases without the patient's consent a process that is commonly referred to as anonymous blood screening ( Peckham & Hann, 2010) . In this case, the health practitioners obtain blood that was intended for other purposes such as blood transfusion as well as blood indented to test the presence of absence of some diseases and test it for HIV/AIDS virus. The process of testing other blood intended for other purposes other than testing HIV/AIDS among the health practitioners have attracted a debate that questions the ethical values of the process. Despite the heating debate that questions the ethics of anonymous blood screening process, it is essential to indicate that it is of great importance as well as indicate that it have been proved as ethically appropriate by the World Health Organization. 

The question of Morality among Societal Individuals 

Anonymous blood testing process is a process that involves the use of blood, which is ready for disposal. This implies that the blood has already been used for the intended purpose and the leftovers are used for the anonymous screening process. In this case, individuals in the community cannot question the morality of anonymous blood testing because it utilizes the unwanted blood in the process. From a broader perspective, the community members believe that the blood have been utilized rather than disposing of it and yet it would be utilized for further research and provide data that would benefit the whole society. It is also essential to indicate that the anonymous blood testing procedures are used to develop data that is used in making survey on the rate of HIV/AIDS within a society ( Peckham & Hann, 2010) . The results will, in turn, is used to provide the community members with public awareness programs that aim at educating the community members of the health risk they are prone to which in turn enable them to take appropriate medical prevention approaches. As a result, the anonymous blood testing approach has been widely accepted and upheld by numerous communities globally. 

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Additionally, in various studies carried out to find out the community members response to the anonymous blood screening process, the studies indicated that the community members reacted positively. The positive reactions towards the anonymous blood test among community members have been significantly associated with the fact that before the blood test is carried out, all the patient details are removed implying the results of the blood test cannot be traced to any patient or community member ( Bayer & Oppenheimer, 2002) . As a result of the anonymity of the blood test results, the community members feel protected against medical biases that might result from using data which reveals the patient's details. In such a case, no community members feel threaten or targeted by the procedure as it is general in nature, hence, accepting the procedure as morally right Literature indicate that the studies indicated high acceptance rate for anonymous blood screening than it was expected. Among those that highly appreciated the procedure, were adults between the age of 25 and 54 and particularly those who had to participate antenatal or genitourinary health services since the initial stages of the survey ( Bayer & Oppenheimer, 2002)

It is also important to indicate that the information obtained from the anonymous blood screening process enables the community members to understand the health risk within the community clearly and therefore take appropriate preventive measures. Research indicates that the results presented from anonymous testing to community members have significantly increased the voluntary screening rates among communities with high prevalence of HIV/AIDS ( Bayer & Oppenheimer, 2002) . As a result, the community members have morally accepted the anonymous blood screening process for providing adequate knowledge and statistics that reflect the real status of the society, hence, enabling the community members to take appropriate precautions including, voluntary HIV/AIDS testing as well as protection measures. 

Relevant Authorities and Justification of Seroprevalence 

The department of Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has morally accepted the process of anonymous blood screening due to the positive effects that it has on both the health industry as well as the community. Firstly when carrying out an HIV/AIDS test on an individual, the individual must be subjected to counseling before and after the test, of which the process have been considered as expensive and time-consuming ( Peckham & Hann, 2010) . As a result of developing a cost-effective medical healthcare, the government and the health practitioners seek to reduce the cost of running the health centuries. As a result, the government and the health sector view the process of anonymous blood screening as cost effective and hence, eliminating any form of legal or ethical limitation that might object the process, therefore, terming the process as ethical. Additionally, the health practitioners argue that the test results obtained from the free volunteers, which have proved to be expensive are limiting because the individuals might face discrimination in the society arising from data obtained from community members suffering or at the risk of contracting the HIV/AIDS virus and disease ( Peckham & Hann, 2010). In this case, the customer whose blood enjoy high confidentiality due to the unlinked details of the blood used in the process. 

Additionally, since the anonymous blood screen result is anonymous in nature and cannot be traced to the blood owner, the health industry have widely accepted and upheld the procedure and its results as morally upright. It is the duty of the health practitioners to ensure that the patient details are highly kept private and also ensure that the patients are aware of their health conditions. However, in the case of anonymous blood screening, the patient details are anonymous which in turn implies that the data is not linked to an individual ( Bayer & Oppenheimer, 2002) . Therefore, the health practitioners are at liberty and following the medics’ ethics to use the data to aid other community members. When focusing of the validity and molarity of using seroprevalence data obtained from an anonymous blood test, the health department views the results as morally right. The decision has been primarily because the samples represent the population of a community, and therefore, it can be used to decide the health circumstances in the community as well as provide appropriate data to the community members. 

Research studies indicate that community members are reluctant in taking part in voluntary testing which in turn hinders the health practitioners from effectively managing the spread of the HIV/AIDS within a community. It has also been noted that the most of the people will not allow their blood to be used in anonymous blood screening process even after getting the patients consent which will, in turn, limits the quality of data to utilize in the survey ( Bayer & Oppenheimer, 2002) . It is important to note that the center for diseases control and prevention is entrusted with the duty of responding to emergency health risks that pose a health risk to the community. In this case, the health facilities are morally upright to carry out the anonymous blood screening in an attempt to effectively manage the rising health emergency of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS. 

Lastly, the anonymous blood screening procedures allows the health practitioners to arrive at genuine data. The use of anonymous blood to test the HIV/AIDS plays a significant role to ensure that the health practices provide data that is not biased ( Peckham & Hann, 2010) . Over the years, the health sector has significantly been suffering from health inequalities among different groups in the society. In a natural survey, the health practitioners might unconsciously use samples that might lead to biased results. The health industry considers the results obtained from anonymous blood test because they minimize research errors that might arise from biases. Different people within a society vary regarding education levels, social-economic factors, race, age, gender among other variations, which might lead to biases while carrying out a study due to overdependence on already existing data regarding a specific condition among a specific group of people. 

Conclusively, numerous individuals have questioned the question of ethnic matters regarding the anonymous blood testing procedure because the individuals believe that it violates confidentiality ethic as well as the ethics, which requires patient's consent in matters regarding their health. However, from the above discuss it is evidence that the procedure has been considered as morally upright regarding upholding ethics for both the community members as well as the health industry, hence, the conclusion that the procedure is ethical. 

References 

Bayer, R., & Oppenheimer, G. M. (2002).    AIDS doctors: Voices from the epidemic . Oxford [u.a.: Oxford University Press. 

Peckham, S., & Hann, A. (2010).    Public health ethics and practice . Bristol, UK: Policy. 

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 16). Anonymous Blood Testing.
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