Since the introduction of routine screening for HIV antibodies among blood donors (August 1985) through December 31, 1993, nearly 33 million donations were tested in France, of which 6,196 tested positive and were excluded from the blood supply. The rate of positive donations is steadily declining: it fell from 6.4 per 10,000 in 1985 to 0.47 per 10,000 in 1993.