Question
My boyfriend tested positive but what is the 'confirmatory test' they say he now needs?
7 February 2011. Related: All topics, HIV testing, HIV transmission, Newly diagnosed.
Hi
What does a ‘confirmatory test’ mean if someone has a positive result?
My partner took a HIV ELISA test and unfortunately it came back positive. One year later, the test was repeated with the same method and the result was the same. Is this the confirmatory test or does he have to take a test which uses another method?
Thank you!
Answer
Thank you for your question.
Anyone who has tested positive needs to have a second test to make sure the result is correct. This is called a confirmatory test. It eliminates the possibility of a false positive result. Usually they use a different test called a Western blot to do the confirmatory test. This confirmatory test makes the positive result 100% accurate.
What sort of test did your boyfriend have? If your boyfriend had a blood test then it is possible that if his test was positive, they used the same sample to do a confirmatory test. If this is the case then he will already have had a test to confirm that he has HIV. He should not need another confirmatory test. You need to talk to his doctor to find this out.