Description
In this recording of Boston's Other Voice, which aired on May 14, 1989, host Peter Stickel interviews Ray Dinoi, a social worker and therapist, about hemophilia and the AIDS crisis. Dinoi first explains that hemophilia is a disease that effects about 20,000 Americans who have blood deficient in certain clotting factors. Hemophiliacs are reliant upon blood transfusions to obtain these crucial clotting factors. Unfortunately, many blood donors are not aware of their AIDS status when donating, and infected blood has entered into many blood pool donations, thus infecting many hemophiliacs. People with the most severe deficiency in clotting factor are the ones with the highest levels of infection due to the large number of transfusions they must receive. Dinoi speaks about the various support groups available at the New England Hemophilia Center for people effected by hemophilia and AIDS. Dinoi speaks about the risk of AIDS for hemophiliacs, what awareness has been brought to the issue, and how hemophiliacs can live with AIDS.