In July 1983, one donor imparted his “gift of life” at a bloodmobile visiting his work site. The blood, however, was discarded after Stanford tests measured the ratio of T-helper to T-suppressor lymphocytes to be .29 to 1, far below the average ratio of 2 to 1. The ratio was either the result of a botched test or severe immune problems. As was routine, the blood bank asked the donor, a thirty-nine-year-old male, to return to the blood bank for a battery of follow-up tests. The man made the appointments but never showed up. Eight months later he was diagnosed with Kaposi’s sarcoma. By that
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