Lansing - Robert Cooley knows about life with HIV. When he was 8 years old, the Lansing resident contracted the virus from medicine that was made with HIV-infected plasma.
A hemophiliac, the medicine was intended to help clot his blood, but ended up giving him the virus that also killed his uncle and brother.
"No one ever asks to get this disease," said Cooley, 28. "It's not a game, but it doesn't mean death; you can live with it."
Cooley, who is soft-spoken but open about his condition, said he was relatively healthy until a few years ago, but has since battled viral encephalitis and pneumonia. He has survived to speak about his experiences to groups of people to show them that there is life with HIV.
"I had a friend who doesn't talk to me anymore," Cooley said. "He said that wasn't the reason why, but I know that's what it was."
Others have been more understanding.
"I usually tell girls I'm dating that I have it," Cooley said. "Some have been scared off but most are understanding."
Cooley works at the Lansing Area AIDS Network offices several days out of the year. The offices have been recognizing National HIV Testing Day, which is Sunday, throughout the week.
Posters hanging at the network offices convey the message its counselors want to send: "It's Better To Know."
According to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, out of the 850,000 people in the United States who have HIV, a quarter don't know they have it. HIV is the virus that people are first infected with, which can evolve into AIDS.
And a 2004 report issued by the National College Health Assessment, a nonprofit research group, states 75 percent of all MSU students are sexually active. Out of those, 56 percent use condoms on a regular basis. The report also stated 22 percent of all MSU students have gotten tested for HIV, and one-tenth of one percent of all students report they have HIV.
"If people get tested and know their status, they can better guard their immune system and change their lifestyles," said Patrick Lombardi, the network's director of volunteer services. "It's very good to know."
The AIDS network and the Olin Health Center are trying to prevent those numbers from getting any higher by offering free, anonymous HIV testing on Friday as part of National HIV Testing Day. HIV and AIDS can be contracted through unprotected sex with an infected person, intravenous drug use and infected blood transfusions, Lombardi said.
"There's a lack of knowledge and understanding about how prevalent the disease is," said Deanna DeHaven, an HIV counselor and test coordinator at Olin. "When alcohol's involved, students also use poor judgment."
Prevention specialist Kaye McDuffie, of the Lansing network, also said ignorance plays a part in why many people, including college students, don't get tested.
"They feel like this belongs to someone else," McDuffie said.
Dennis Martell, coordinator for Health Education Services at Olin, said new advancements in medicine have made people more careless about having sex.
"HIV is still very prevalent in the U.S.," Martell said. "Just because there are new treatments that can help you live with it doesn't mean you should let your guard down."
Students also say alcohol often plays a part in why people often don't have safe sex.
"I haven't really seen AIDS around here," English junior Andrew Lutes said. "Basically, though, I think this comes down to responsibility. People lose their inhibitions in situations at bars and when they're drunk, which is understandable."
At Olin, students can go in and ask for anonymous testing, which means their real name will never appear on medical forms. They can speak with a counselor and then get tested.
"It's a counseling session where they talk about themselves," DeHaven said. "I ask them why they think they are at risk, if they engage in risky behavior and if they want to change their behavior."
Individuals are then tested using the OraSure HIV-1 Oral Fluid Specimen Device, which swabs the inside of the mouth for a sample. It is then sent to the lab and the person should have the results in little more than a week. The test is 99.97 accurate.
If the patient tests positive for the virus, Martell said they refer them to the AIDS network, which helps them set up treatment if they want.
"We work very closely with other service providers," Martell said. "We counsel them for negative, positive or indeterminate results."
Olin is trying to help prevent the disease in the first place by making sure students are using protection during sex.
"We have a Condom Connection program and a program where the resident mentors provide condoms called Residence Rubbers," Martell said.
"We try to provide as much education and harm reduction as possible."
Martell said although they aren't trying to discourage people from having sex, they need to think about their actions.
"People need to ask themselves why they're having sex, and they need to use as much safety as possible," Martell said.
"They need to use condoms, and if for some reason they're injecting drugs, don't share equipment. People can reduce risk use by using common sense, and by protecting themselves."
Fear is often what keeps people from getting tested, McDuffie said.
"You need to know your risk and your status," McDuffie said.
