RESUMEN
The FonSIDA is a private clinic created in 1992 within the premises of the National Blood Transfusion Center of Abidjan (CNTS), the largest city in Côte d'Ivoire. It provides medical and psychological follow-up for blood donors which are diagnosed as HIV-infected. This Centre provides blood for transfusions in Abidjan and the surrounding area, which from 1992 to 1999 collected 263,398 blood units. In this period, 5574 subjects were detected HIV-positive. Among those, 1766 (32%) HIV infected blood donors came back to be tested for confirmation of HIV diagnosis. Since then, only 9% of the 5574 donors have been seen at least twice a year for medical and psychological follow-up. Women were more compliant than men in the FonSIDA Clinic: they constituted 62% of the 409 patients who were followed-up (p < 0.001). 53% of men had sex with prostitutes the year before HIV diagnosis. 67% of women stated voluntary abortion at least once. In the same period the systematic use of condoms was reported by only 7% of women and 5% of men. 22% of women and 28% of men reported having two or more sexual partners in the year before HIV diagnosis. The main aim of every blood center is to improve blood safety, particularly in developing countries. The appropriate counseling towards blood donors and especially those detected HIV positive can contribute to reduce new HIV infections in high HIV prevalence cities. Rate of compliance of HIV-infected patients to follow-up has risen to 11% in 1992-1994 to 60% in 1997-1999 and will contribute to reach this aim.