VENEZUELA. Resolution No. SG-439 of 26 August 1994 of the Ministry of Health and Social Assistance. (Gaceta Oficial de la República de Venezuela, No. 35538, 2 September 1994, pp. 189051-189052, as translated in International Digest of Health Legislation, Vol. 45, No. 4, 1994, p. 503.)

Sections 1 and 2 of this Resolution, approved by the Venezuelan Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, read as follows:

"1. In order to protect the integrity and dignity of human beings, the administration of tests for the detection of anti-HIV antibodies shall be restricted throughout the national territory to the following: a) epidemiological studies of the prevalence of antibodies in the population in general or in specified social groups, coordinated, planned, and directed by the health authorities for purely statisitical or descriptive purposes. All necessary instructions must be provided and the confidentiality must be assured of data enabling the identification of persons taking part in the studies and the results obtained in tests for the detection of anti-HIV antibodies; b) blood, tissue, sperm, and organ donors, with a view to avoiding the use of elements of the human body liable to have been contaminated by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Donors must be informed of the fact that tests are to be carried out for the detection of anti-HIV antibodies and that the results obtained will be communicated, all appropriate measures being taken to ensure confidentiality with regard to data management; and c) persons presenting signs or manifest symptoms suggesting the presence of anti-HIV antibodies or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), subject to the free and express consent of the patient and under the instructions and supervision of the attending physician.

2. Tests for the detection of anti-HIV antibodies may not be administered without the free, express, and manifest consent of the person undergoing examination. The examination may not be requested in connection with an application for employment or for the continuation of professional activity; for admission to centers of basic, intermediary, diversified, or higher education; or for the provision of health services and, in general, in all situations likely to restrict the free exercise of individual, social, economic, political, and cultural rights."