I was wondering about how much an HIV test costs if insurance doesn't cover it? Someone told me that I could get the test done for free at an Aids clinic. Has anyone gotten an HIV test done before at an Aids clinic?

When a person goes to donate blood, don't they test the person for HIV and other things beforehand?

yes... I live in cananda so everything is free... Ummmm look up a planned parenthood or something if you ae american. best of luck
xox heaven

When you give blood they specifically ask you if you are giving to find out if you are HIV positive.... if you reply yes they will not draw blood. Go to the county clinic if your in USA and they will give you a free testing. Don't be afraid, you will be ok.

I was wondering about how much an HIV test costs if insurance doesn't cover it? Someone told me that I could get the test done for free at an Aids clinic. Has anyone gotten an HIV test done before at an Aids clinic?

When a person goes to donate blood, don't they test the person for HIV and other things beforehand?

I went to the doctors and they had a blood test done for me to see if I have HIV, if you are concerened go to your doc.

*sigh* no one is giving this guy good info. YES there are sites that you can go to to get a free test done.Look it up online, its pretty easy to find. You can also get one from your health dept. if its not free there, the price will be minimal. Yes, the blood bank checks for HIV, but if youve had a definite exposure, and youre in the window period, of even a year, you shouldnt donate blood.

Thanks for the info. What do you mean by the window period? I don't know if I've been exposed or not.

I've been feeling extremely exhausted since November of 2003. Also, my concentration and short-term memory isn't good. So I wanted to get an HIV test done to hopefully rule that out as a cause to my symptoms.

the window period is the time between your possible exposure and the time you develop antibodies. The avg. person develops anti-bodies within a month. 99% will develop anti-bodies by 3 months, and testing at this point is considered conclusive. Testing out to 6 months is only neccessary if you have an impaired immune system. The blood bank likes to be extra cautious and most of its requirements hang around the one year mark.

Thanks Hailey,
Could you explain a little more about the antibodies? So a person should usually wait at least three months to get tested for HIV? Sorry if I'm being annoying. My brain fog and exhaustion is so bad, it's hard for me to concentrate.

Do you think I should still look into being tested based on my symptoms and how long I've been having them?

I think you should get tested if you're worried about regardless of any kind of symptom. Its unhealthy to always be worried about something you might possibly have, esp a fatal disease. Trust me, dont debate over this for too long, you'll drive yourself mad. just get tested. :wave: