School of Medicine

The Horizons Project

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Testing For HIV

How testing is done at the Horizons Project:

• The Horizons Project offers free and confidential testing using the Orasure® test. This test is FDA approved for the purpose of collecting, preserving, and transporting oral fluid samples. The Orasure® test is accurate, simple and painless, and does not require the client to give blood. The collection procedure is simple, and a trained Horizons Project staff member will guide a client through the process.
   
• First, the client places the collection pad inside his or her mouth, in between the lower cheek and the gum for 2 to 5 minutes. The cotton pad has been specially treated to collect HIV antibodies out of the gum and cheek tissues. HIV antibodies are special proteins that are produced by the immune system when the virus is present in the body.
   
• Then, the cotton pad is put in a container with a chemical that will keep the sample preserved for up to three weeks. The container with the cotton pad is taken to the lab for testing.

Simple, right?

Remember that HIV cannot be spread through contact with an infected person's saliva. Orasure® tests for antibodies (not HIV itself) in a person's tissue, not in the saliva.

For more information about testing, or to schedule a test, call Jeremy Toney at (313) 924-8230 or David Perrett at (313) 924-8231.