Blood Donation and COVID-19: Reconsidering the 3-Month Deferral Policy for Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men
Autor: | Michael P. Mullen, Andrew Furlow, Elizabeth F Gorodetsky, David Reich, Benjamin Asriel, Christopher Park, Caroline Gellman, Madeline O'Brien, Ipsita Subudhi, Keith Sigel, Sulaiman Somani, Girish N. Nadkarni, Andrew Eidelberg |
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Rok vydání: | 2021 |
Předmět: |
medicine.medical_specialty
Blood transfusion business.industry Donor selection media_common.quotation_subject medicine.medical_treatment Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health 030204 cardiovascular system & hematology Men who have sex with men 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Family medicine Transgender Sexual orientation Medicine 030212 general & internal medicine Homosexuality business Deferral Health policy media_common |
Zdroj: | American Journal of Public Health. 111:247-252 |
ISSN: | 1541-0048 0090-0036 |
Popis: | In April 2020, in light of COVID-19-related blood shortages, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reduced the deferral period for men who have sex with men (MSM) from its previous duration of 1 year to 3 months. Although originally born out of necessity, the decades-old restrictions on MSM donors have been mitigated by significant advancements in HIV screening, treatment, and public education. The severity of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic—and the urgent need for safe blood products to respond to such crises—demands an immediate reconsideration of the 3-month deferral policy for MSM. We review historical HIV testing and transmission evidence, discuss the ethical ramifications of the current deferral period, and examine the issue of noncompliance with donor deferral rules. We also propose an eligibility screening format that involves an individual risk-based screening protocol and, unlike current FDA guidelines, does not effectively exclude donors on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. Our policy proposal would allow historically marginalized community members to participate with dignity in the blood donation process without compromising blood donation and transfusion safety outcomes. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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