I suppose I don’t know how the lab test is administered
yep
Yes, so I wonder why an “inconclusive” is less “the lab tech screwed up the sample” and more “it’s not technically a negative result”.
One thing I’ve been told is that the Red Cross combines samples of the same blood type in batches, then tests the batch, and if the batch tests positive they send out “inconclusive” letters to everyone in the batch and blacklist all of them.
I’m not sure if I believe that’s true, myself. I had a cold when I donated and was taking over the counter remedies, so my theory is that they detected a type of antibody in my blood that was similar to the antibody for HIV.