The value of lookback to understanding blood-borne infectious diseases: the New South Wales' HIV experience.

This article describes the methods used by the New South Wales Division of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS-NSW) to conduct human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) lookback, assesses the success and limitations of the different methods used, and discusses the results obtained. This article shows that an important outcome of the HIV lookback undertaken by the ARCBS-NSW was the establishment and maintenance of an observational database. This database became an integral part of several research projects that contributed significantly to understanding factors influencing the rate of progression of HIV to acquired immunodeficiency virus and knowledge of HIV pathogenesis in general.