Medicine

The AIDS crisis has scared many people from donating or receiving blood from the Red Cross. Kathleen Denton, Director of Communications for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Red Cross, says those fears are unfounded. Denton explains that a test developed last April screens for the presence of antibodies to the HTLV-III virus, which is believed to cause AIDS. All blood is screened before being added to the pool. (Interview By Amy Salit)

Part two of Fresh Air's interview with medical and social experts on this special edition of the show devoted to the AIDS crisis. Dr. John Turner is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University who treats many AIDS patients. Dr. Robert Sharrar is an epidemiologist monitoring the spread of AIDS in Philadelphia as the Director of the Division of Disease Control at the Philadelphia Department of Health.

Dr. John Turner is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University who treats many AIDS patients. Dr. Robert Sharrar is an epidemiologist monitoring the spread of AIDS in Philadelphia as the Director of the Division of Disease Control at the Philadelphia Department of Health. Roger Stephens is the chair of the education committee of the Philadelphia AIDS Task Force and the Director of Social Work at Graduate Hospital.

On this special edition of Fresh Air devoted to the AIDS Crisis, Terry Gross speaks with a 32-year-old New Jersey man who was diagnosed with the disease a year ago. Fresh Air has respected his wish to remain anonymous.

British actor Jonathan Miller gave up a medical career to pursue acting. His career led him to become a television critic, director, and producer. He eventually returned to medicine, and is a practicing neurologist and medical writer.

Physician and activist Patch Adams started a collective of medical professionals which provides free, community-based healthcare out of a suburban home. A strong critic of the for-profit health care industry, he advocates against unnecessary procedures and more patient-centered care.

Seymour Shubin is a novelist whose previous work "Anyone's My Name," was a best seller. Shubin is the former managing editor of Official Detective Stories, and has written for medical and psychological journalists. His new novel, "The Captain," is a suspense story that explores the anger and resentment a retired detective living in a nursing home feels towards the nurses, doctors, and the family members who put him there. The novel has been nominated for an Edgar Award.

Dr. Walter Lear is the founder and co-chair of the National Gay Health Coalition, the former state Health Commissioner, for Southeast Pennsylvania and the president and founder of the Institute of Social Medicine and Community Health in West Philadelphia. Dr. Nick Ifft is the secretary of Philadelphia Health Professionals for Human Rights (an organization of gay and lesbian physicians and dentists), the coordinator of the Philadelphia A.I.D.S. Task Force, and a general practitioner at South East Health Center in Philadelphia. The doctors join the show to discuss A.I.D.S.

Ann Beuf is a sociologist who studies the social and psychological lives of those with illnesses. She has researched the lives of hospitalized children and the psychology of vitiligo patients. Beuf was formerly the director of Womens' Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and currently teaches at Penn and Cedar Crest College. She will travel to New Zealand next year on a Fullbright Scholarship. Beuf recently traveled to China to study their medical system, she will discuss her findings as well as her research into anorexia patients in this interview.

Julian "Winnie" Winston is best known as as a pedal steel guitarist who builds whose own instruments. He also works as a professor of design at the Philadelphia College of the Arts. In this interview, Winston, whose nickname is "Winnie," discusses another field of interest: homeopathy. Winston first experienced homeopathic medicine as a patient, and began to research it for himself. He has spent a year traveling around the country interviewing homeopathic practitioners.