With a suppressed viral load there is almost zero risk of HIV transmission during sex. If your viral load is not undetectable, but is below 1000 copies/ml, this can be called a ‘suppressed’ viral load. An undetectable viral load needs to be maintained by taking effective treatment as prescribed, without regularly missing doses. Within three to six months, most people who take their treatment as prescribed will have an undetectable viral load. After starting HIV treatment, viral load usually falls quickly.There is still a considerable risk of passing HIV on. A typical viral load in someone not taking treatment may be 50,000 copies/ml or higher. A few weeks after someone gets HIV, their viral load usually drops.There is a high risk of passing on HIV at this point. A typical high viral load is between hundreds of thousands to several million copies/ml. The first few weeks after someone gets HIV, their viral load is usually very high.Does U=U apply to people who inject drugs?.What about sexually transmitted infections?.What does U=U mean for me if my partner is living with HIV?.What does U=U mean for me if I am living with HIV?.Isn’t the viral load in semen, vaginal fluids or rectum more important than viral load in blood?.How do I know if my viral load is undetectable?.Viral load and the risk of transmission.This is sometimes referred to as 'Undetectable equals Untransmittable' or 'U=U'. Having an undetectable viral load means that there is not enough of the virus in body fluids to pass on HIV during sex, including oral sex, vaginal sex, and anal sex. Doctors call this ‘virological suppression’ but it is often known as ‘having an undetectable viral load’ or ‘being undetectable’. With effective HIV treatment, the number of copies becomes so low that these viral load tests are unable to detect any HIV or can only find a tiny trace. Viral load is measured in units called ‘copies’ and tests show these results as ‘viral copies per millilitre of blood’ (copies/ml). Taking effective HIV treatment (antiretroviral therapy) suppresses the amount of HIV in body fluids. The amount of HIV found in body fluids is called viral load. This is what is meant by the slogan 'Undetectable equals Untransmittable' ('U=U').Once the amount of HIV in body fluids is reduced to an ‘undetectable’ level, HIV cannot be passed on during sex.

Effective HIV treatment reduces the amount of HIV in body fluids.Each time you donate you could help up to 3 adults or 12 children. We are looking for AB negative blood donors to switch to giving platelets. We encourage our male donors to donate as frequently as possible while asking female donors to wait to donate until contacted directly by us.Īs the scarcest blood type, relatively small changes in the number of donations collected or requested by hospital can have a dramatic and immediate effect on the amount of AB negative we store.Īt these times, we rely on the support of all AB negative donors to help prevent waste and ensure patients continue to receive the blood and blood products needed to save and improve lives.

To avoid waste and to achieve the balance of plasma and red cells required by patients, we manage AB negative donations differently to other blood groups. This is because female donors (especially those who have been pregnant) can develop antibodies that, while no danger to themselves, can prove life threatening to patients transfused with their plasma. Plasma from AB negative donations can help treat patients of all blood types, however fresh frozen plasma is only produced from male donations. AB negative donations are extremely versatile, but because it is the rarest blood type finding new donors can be a challenge.

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