Donating blood and HIV testing

Hello,

This is sort of off topic, but I am wondering on the reliability of donating blood and using that for my HIV monitoring. I had a few unprotected encounters in college, years ago, but have since tested negative and so I have a clean bill of health. I (now) always play it safe, but I'm also still playing the field, so I want to monitor my health. So I was wondering if regularly donating blood would suffice in place of regular testing. I haven't done anything that would disqualify me from donating blood, and figure if I'm gonna get stuck by a needle I might as well help someone else out. Also, typically how long after donating blood would it take for them to contact me if someone did get flagged?

[lanvin]

It is illegal to donate blood if you have diseases and do not disclose, which you do not know. They will also ask you about any risk behaviors. I would not recommend that. Donating blood is never a way to get your status. There are oral sawb rapid hiv test. That way you won't have to get pricked. Or just go get a full test if you're wanting to know. Donating blood is much worse than a test. Its very drainging and can make you feel very ill for the day , or passout, nauseaous. Not a pleasant experience for me. I would much rather get a a small amount taken for testing. That is a generous thought but I would get formally tested.It could take a while , months before you are notified as opposed to a day or two with testing. I know its scary but its normal.