The State - News from March 29, 1985

After three weeks of testing donated blood for signs of AIDS contamination, San Francisco officials said only a small fraction, about 1%, of the blood shows signs of infection with the virus suspected of causing the deadly disease. Health officials said early results of the federally licensed test indicate homosexuals and members of other groups facing a higher risk of contracting the disease are not donating blood. The officials also said testing at Bay Area blood banks shows that acquired immune deficiency syndrome is not yet attacking heterosexuals in large numbers, as some recent evidence had indicated. The testing reveals the presence of antibodies to the virus HTLV-III, which most researchers believe to be the cause of AIDS, which has no known cure.