A German men’s magazine has produced its latest edition using ink infused with HIV-positive blood.

The German monthly Vangardist asked three men living with the HIV virus to donate blood for the project in a bid to break down the taboo associated with the disease. Each copy is wrapped in plastic with the message:

‘Break the seal and help break the stigma‘

The blood-infused ink was used for ‘every word, line, picture and page’ of the edition, according to those behind the project.

The magazine was produced in line with the most stringent controls and is 100 per cent safe, according to Saatchi & Saatchi Switzerland, the advertising agency that led the campaign.

The firm says the processes were developed according to guidelines established by Harvard and Innsbruck University to ensure the magazines carry no risk of infection.

Around 3,000 copies have been printed for Vangardist’s spring edition which are available on newsstands from next week. 

The front cover which reads: ‘This magazine has been printed with the blood of HIV+ people. Now the issue is in your hands.’

Vangardist hopes it will stop people seeing HIV as ‘old news’ and generate new debate about how to effectively manage the disease and ultimately eradicate the virus.

Julian Wiehl, publisher and CEO of Vangardist, said: ‘The editorial team at Vangardist is committed to dealing with a wide variety of topics affecting our readers.

‘We believe that as a lifestyle magazine it is our responsibility to address the issues shaping society today.

‘With 80 per cent more confirmed cases of HIV being recorded in 2013 than 10 years previously and an estimated 50 per cent of HIV cases being detected late due to lack of testing caused by social stigma associated with the virus.

‘This felt like a very relevant issue for us to focus on not just editorially but also from a broader communications stand point.’

The special edition has been released to coincide with one of the biggest HIV events in the world – Life Ball – which takes place every year in Vangardist’s home town of Vienna.

Jason Romeyko, Executive Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Switzerland, said: ‘This is truly a “Nothing Is Impossible” story – one we have been passionate about for a long time.

‘When Vangardist approached us to help them raise awareness of this important cause around Life Ball in Vienna, we knew we had met a brave client.

‘With this unique project, we want to create a response in a heartbeat by transforming the media into the very root of the stigma itself – by printing every word, line, picture and page of the magazine with blood from HIV+ people.

‘By holding the issue, readers are immediately breaking the taboo.’

Is it safe?

The obvious question must be, is it safe?

The choice of donor would perhaps have resulted in the selection of those receiving anti-retrovial  treatment and with a low or undetectable viral load. Beyond that, the viability of any residual virus would lessen over time, for safety not time on the printed page but before printing, to ensure the widest margin of safety.

But perhaps to set peoples mind at rest regarding safety, and to ensure no regulatory or other safety concerns, more robust measures were put into place.

Though you would be forgiven for not knowing how you get blood from a HIV-positive person onto the pages of a magazine, the Executive Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Switzerland, tells how it’s done:

• ‘Scientifically, the virus dies naturally outside the body. It takes about 30 minutes for it to decompose’
• ‘Furthermore, to ensure there is no danger, we went through a sterilisation process at the University of Innsbruck in an autoclave’
• ‘This is a standard procedure to deactivate all kinds of viruses in blood and is not only accepted in Europe, but also confirmed from the Medical Faculty of Harvard University to be a 100 per cent safe way to do so’
• ‘The blood was then tested after the procedure again to confirm that the autoclaving has worked 100%’
• ‘In the print process, the blood of the three donors were mixed together and mounted in an infusion portioniser to inject it into the printing ink directly before the printing process’
• ‘All our research has proved that at the time of the printing process this was the first time that somebody used this method to draw attention to HIV’

If this publicity stunt works, then good for that. However, since the purpose if to challenge people to ‘break down the stigma of HIV infection’, announcing that the process involves the addition of autoclaved blood seems to give the game aware and demolish any possible advantage.

And we must hope that this otherwise worthwhile stunt does not impact on the healthcare waste and disposal sectors, to reduce the care taken when handling potentially infectious wastes.  That would be not only counterproductive, but truly disastrous.