Protect blood donor supply from avian flu

Stanford Researchers Scramble to Create Test for Bird Flu

San Jose, Calif. (KCBS) -- The threat of an avian fly pandemic has Stanford University researchers working on a way to test blood for the presence of the disease in an effort to protect the region's blood supply. KCBS reporter Matt Bigler says officials at the Stanford Blood Center are not mincing words when they speak of the bird flu pandemic spreading to the United States. "It would be a complete disaster if we were to have one because there is no testing for it. It's so new. It's almost like the new AIDS epidemic," said Monica Doleshel-Aguirra, a spokesperson for the center. She says without a test for the disease, blood supplies could become contaminated and by the time doctors realized it, it could be too late. That's why Stanford researchers are working to break down the genetic code of the bird flu in order to have a test ready to go even before the disease spreads. In the meantime, the more immediate threat to Bay Area residents is the critically low blood supply level. "What they don't understand, and I think it's our responsibility and to educate them is that the need is 24/7," said Doleshel-Aguirra.

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