Description

Currently many countries with 12 month deferrals have either moved to policies that are less restrictive (shorter time-deferrals or permitting some low-risk MSM to donate plasma without a time deferral) or are considering doing so. Plasma donation can include additional safety steps such as a quarantine hold, or a pathogen inactivation step, thus permitting movement away from the time deferral paradigm while ensuring safety for recipients. This session will present examples of such policies from other countries and examine the evidence considered when making these policy decisions, and evaluate the safety and sufficiency of the blood supply post-implementation. In this session the AABB Donor History Task Force and the International Society for Blood Transfusion : Transfusion-Transmitted Infectious Diseases Working Party will present the following: 

• Recent changes in MSM policy in France including a policy for sexually active MSM to donate plasma. Data post-implementation of the plasma policy will be included (Pierre Tiberghien)
• Blood donation in Israel with a focus on a program to permit MSM to donate plasma from whole blood phlebotomy for transfusion. Data pre- and post-implementation of the policy will be included (Eilat Shinar)
• Mathematical modelling to assess the residual risk of HIV if MSM were eligible to donate apheresis plasma for fractionation (Antoine Lewin)

Learning Objectives:

• discuss recent changes in MSM policy in France, including a policy for sexually active MSM to donate plasma
• describe development and implementation of a policy for sexually active MSM to donate plasma in Israel
• demonstrate understanding of the residual risk of HIV for potential polices in which sexually active MSM may donate plasma for fractionation in Canada

Speaker(s):

• Antoine Lewin, Héma-Québec
• Prof. Eilat Shinar, MD, Magen David Adom
• Pierre Tiberghien, Etablissement Français du Sang