The Food and Drug Administration is considering the first-ever take-home HIV test.
Supporters say it would allow people to do it in the privacy of their own homes, but critics are concerned about the potential psychological effects of getting the news without a doctor’s assistant, according to an Associated Press report.
“There would be some individuals who would have a likely increase of suicide, an individual might be so embarrassed, humiliated or ashamed, that they would not go on to tell anyone," Dr. Michael Finegan told the Associated Press. "Having this contact with their physician, reviewing this medical information, at least it’s shared with someone else and they’re not completely alone."
The take-home test is called Ora-Quick Advance. A person would swab the inside of their mouth, put it in a vial of fluid and get the results 20 minutes later, according to the report.
Just over one million Americans had HIV at the start of 2004, according to the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. Roughly 25 percent of them did not know they were infected. About 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year, AP reported.
