Forty-six people who donated blood in the first six months of last year were found to be HIV-positive, according to data compiled by the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) under the Department of Health. After four of the donors were informed that they had HIV, which can lead to AIDS, the blood donation centers lost contact with them, CDC Deputy Director- General Lin Ting said in an interview with the Central News Agency Wednesday. Fifteen of the remaining 42 HIV-positive donors later admitted to public health staff in interviews that they knew they were at high risk for AIDS, Lin said. Three of the donors said they wanted to know whether they had contracted HIV by means of blood donations, while the other 27 said they did not know before the blood donation that they were HIV-positive, Lin added. 'It is deplorable that people at high risk for AIDS had knowingly made blood donations, ' said Lin. 'In the interest of safe blood transfusions, this should not be allowed to happen again.' People at high risk for AIDS should seek anonymous screening, Lin suggested. An analysis of the data related to the 46 cases of HIV-positive blood donors showed that 67.4 percent of them were between the ages of 20 and 29, and that 45.7 percent had contracted HIV through same-sex encounters, Lin said. Overall, the HIV-positive rate in screening tests carried out in the period January to June 2009 was 4.48 per 100,000, as compared to 2.52 per 100,000 in same period of 2008, Lin said. 'Fortunately, all of the HIV-contaminated blood donations were intercepted after the screening process and there were no HIV infections as a result of transfusions from those sources, ' Lin noted. The CDC has designated 22 public hospitals and three private institutions to provide anonymous HIV tests, therefore, people at high-risk for the virus should not try to get tested by offering to donate blood, Lin said. 