When Fatima was seven months pregnant with her second child in 1990, she developed severe anaemia and was told she needed a blood transfusion. Unaware of any risks, the then 16-year-old agreed to receive blood from anonymous donor. What Fatima (not her real name) and the doctors did not know was that the donor was HIV positive. When she gave birth two months later, she was diagnosed with the disease. Her baby, however, was clear of the virus.
"I didn't know anything about HIV," she says quietly, looking down. "When they found that I was HIV positive, they checked my husband and the family but they were negative. It was from the blood transfusion." The UAE stopped importing blood in 1984, as Aids became a global concern. Instead, it relied on paid-for donations, but it is believed that this blood was tested for the virus. The payments were scrapped in 1990. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), voluntary donors are the safest source of blood because they are "less likely to hide information about their health status and behaviour".
Fatima, now 36, began taking medication immediately and manages her HIV "very well". She lives a fairly normal life and does not seem ill in any way, but has had to make some difficult decisions. Her husband has regular tests and remains free of HIV. "I didn't want anyone but my close family to know, and my children and husband," she says. "I worry if other people find out, they will think bad things about me."
It seems wrong that anyone could judge a 16-year-old who contracted HIV through no fault of her own. But, according to Fatima, who wears a full Abaya, that is exactly what happened. "When I was first diagnosed in the hospital they were looking at me in a bad manner." Twelve years ago she found out she was pregnant again. The risk of transmitting HIV to a child during pregnancy, labour or breast feeding is around 15 to 45 per cent, according to WHO, but can be slashed to around five per cent with the right medication and precautions.
There are no figures on the number of mother-to-child-transmissions in the UAE. But in 2009 there was one pregnant women receiving antiviral drugs to reduce the risk of passing the disease to her child. Fatima, who sees her doctor every three months, was lucky enough to get the best treatment and her child was born free of the disease. A lack of awareness about HIV/Aids is frequently blamed for some of the social problems linked to the disease.
"I am not worried about myself, I don't want people to know because of my children," she says sincerely. "People will look at them in a different way. It might have a bad effect on them. My life is fine but other people would not accept it." @Email:munderwood@thenational.ae
