![can gay men donate blood in atlanta ga can gay men donate blood in atlanta ga](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/124CE/production/_90985947_blood.jpg)
![can gay men donate blood in atlanta ga can gay men donate blood in atlanta ga](https://media2.miaminewtimes.com/mia/imager/u/original/11635738/blood_donations_gay.jpg)
In 2015, a systematic review by De Buck et al investigated the link between MSM blood donors and TTIs, and found few high quality studies to draw from. In addition, HIV is not the only TTI that needs to be considered, for example hepatitis A, HBV, HCV, 15 and syphilis 16 also have a high prevalence in MSM. 14 It is worth noting that 74% of new cases therefore did not come from these groups. 13 CSW are estimated to be 10 times more likely to contract HIV than the general population, and the spread of HIV among MSM, CSW and other high-risk groups (and their sexual partners), accounted for 36% of all new HIV infections in 2015. In the UK, the estimated HIV prevalence in the general population in 2016 was 1. Due to the 1980s AIDS epidemic, HIV is often associated with, although of course not confined to, MSM.
![can gay men donate blood in atlanta ga can gay men donate blood in atlanta ga](https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_nbcnews-fp-1024-512,f_auto,q_auto:best/streams/2013/July/130712/6C8249837-130712-men-blood-donation-4x3-543p.jpg)
12 However, with the advances that have been made in the detection of pathogens in blood products, is there any reason to assume that the proposed change to the deferral should affect blood safety at all? Could, in fact, this change not be going far enough?Ī defence of restrictions on MSM and CSW donating blood is that they may have a greater incidence of transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs). 11 The safety of the patient is paramount and therefore it has been stated that the blood service should err on the side of caution. Currently, the risk of infection from transfusion is extremely low at 1 in 6.7 million for HIV, 1 in 1.3 million for hepatitis B (HBV) and 1 in 28 million for hepatitis C (HCV). Although the reduction in the deferral will result in more people being eligible to donate, there is a trend to decreased use of red blood cells transfusions, 10 and therefore the risks may outweigh the benefits. However, there will always be debate about any change that could allow potentially higher risk populations to donate more freely. Furthermore, deferrals of MSM do not distinguish between those who may be lower risk such as those in monogamous relationships. The benefits of the reduction are numerous, not least equality for these groups, although there is still an obvious disparity in the fact that heterosexual individuals and women who have sex with women, are not deferred (unless they have a high risk partner or exchange sex for money). These were based on a variety of factors including that routine surveillance found that the reduction from permanent to 12-month deferral in 2011 did not increase the risk of transmission of blood-borne infections. 5 The decision to reduce the deferral period was based on recommendations from the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO). 5,6,7 This is a change from a 12-month deferral for people who have a high-risk partner, and from a lifetime ban for CSW. 4 This deferral period came into practice in Great Britain in November 2017 and reduced the time between last sexual contact and donating blood to 3 months. 3 In July 2017, the government announced its intention to reduce the deferral of MSM as well as commercial sex workers (CSW) and those with a partner who has a high risk of an infection which could be sexually transmitted, or who has been sexually active in a high HIV prevalence region. 2 In 2011, the regulations were amended to allow MSM to donate if 12 months had elapsed since their last at-risk sexual contact. At this time, these precautions were deemed necessary due to the lack of testing for the AIDS pathogen, until HIV was identified in 1984. Permanent deferral of high-risk groups, including men who have sex with men (MSM), was initially introduced in the 1980s with the emergence of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Responses indicating potentially unsafe blood may result in deferral. Prior to being allowed to donate blood, a potential donor must undergo a screening questionnaire, 1 which includes questions pertaining to their sexual practices. The UK blood transfusion services rely on voluntary blood donation and exclusion of potential donors can be a controversial and emotive topic.