The CDC estimates that as many as 300000 persons living with HIV infection in America are unaware of their infection status.8 A broad range of studies has shown that, for some of these individuals, fear of receiving a positive test result remains a potent disincentive to seeking HIV testing.9 To what degree is this fear related to an understandable reluctance to learn that one has a life-threatening illness? How much of it can be ascribed to feelings of shame or concerns about the potential for others to discover one’s HIV infection?