The State - News from May 8, 1985

A Good Samaritan may have been exposed to AIDS when he administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a man who had tried to commit suicide--but he said he would do it again, given a similar situation. Dale Smith, proprietor of a security guard company in San Rafael, resuscitated a 36-year-old man who had tried to kill himself by carbon monoxide poisoning and learned several hours later that the man was suffering from acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Marin County health officer Dr. Ted Hiatt said Smith has a “minimal” chance of having contracted AIDS from the lip contact. Nonetheless, Smith said he would do it again because “the response is so automatic.” All the same, he said he will probably carry a mask in the future to avoid direct contact.