Maker of rapid
HIV test will donate $1 million worth of kits

Trinity Biotech, the maker of the Uni-Gold Recombigen rapid HIV antibody test kit, announced this week that it will donate $1 million worth of kits to community-based organizations and public health facilities across the United States during the next six months. The test kits can use blood samples drawn through finger-sticks or drawn from the veins to screen for HIV antibodies. The tests provide results in about 10 minutes. The Food and Drug Administration reports that the tests are 99.7% accurate. Workers and volunteers conducting the tests do not require any formal medical training, which makes the tests ideal for use in sexually transmitted disease clinics, AIDS service organizations, and street-level outreach programs. Among the groups set to receive the free kits are the Metropolitan Atlanta Outreach Association and the Los Angeles-based Minority AIDS Project.