Survey: 3 in 10 MSMs don’t comply with UK blood donor policy
Photo by Marja Helander
ANAHEIM—A survey of UK blood donors suggests that as many as 30% of donors who are men who have sex with men (MSM) may not be compliant with the MSM blood donor policy.
The UK’s policy requires that MSMs do not donate blood if they have engaged in sexual activity with another male in the last 12 months.
But the survey indicates that as many as 3 in 10 MSMs are disregarding this policy.
The research also suggests that MSMs who do not comply with the policy engage in riskier sexual behavior than non-MSM male blood donors.
However, the researchers found no increase in the number of sexually transmitted infections present in the blood supply since the donation policy for MSMs changed from a lifetime ban to a 12-month deferral period.
The infections evaluated include human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and syphilis.
The researchers also emphasized that the prevalence of HIV-positive blood donations in the UK remains low.
Katie Davidson, of Public Health England in London, presented these findings at the 2015 AABB Annual Meeting (abstract S36-030E*).
She noted that, in 2011, the blood services of England, Wales, and Scotland changed the blood donor policy for MSMs from a lifetime ban to a 12-month deferral since last male-to-male sex.
Before this policy change took effect, the blood services estimated that the change would mean 2679 MSMs would be newly eligible to donate blood (0.7% of male donors), and 8 of these donors would have HIV. So there would be a 0.5% increase in HIV risk.
“But what was clear was that these predictions in terms of HIV risk would be very dependent upon compliance,” Davidson said. “And what we mean by compliance is that a donor understands the rule, applies it correctly, and discloses any relevant information when they’re asked.”
To investigate donor behavior and compliance, Davidson and her colleagues conducted a large-scale, anonymous, web-based survey of blood donors.
Each month for 1 year (2013), all eligible new blood donors and at least an equal number of repeat blood donors in the UK were invited, via email, to complete an online questionnaire asking about their sexual history and compliance with the 12-month deferral policy for MSM (if applicable).
The researchers also looked at UK surveillance data on infections (HIV, HBV, HCV, and syphilis) in new and repeat blood donors over 6 years, comparing the incidence of infections before and after the policy change took effect (3 years pre- and post-change).
Donation and compliance
Among 65,439 survey respondents, 22,776 (35%) were male, and 242 (1%) were MSMs. Among the MSMs, 73 reported male-to-male sex within the last 12 months (non-compliance), and 181 said it had been more than 12 months since their last male-to-male sexual encounter.
The researchers adjusted these proportions for differences among the respondents and the donor population and extrapolated the data to the whole UK donor population.
The team estimated that, among 488,523 UK donors, there would be 5471 MSMs. Of the MSM donors, 3713 would be eligible under the new policy, and 1759 would be non-compliant.
So MSM compliance with the 12-month deferral policy would be 99.7% among all male donors but 70.4% of the MSM population.
“So 3 in every 10 MSMs donating blood in the UK shouldn’t be, [according to the estimates],” Davidson said.
The survey asked non-compliant MSM donors to provide their reasons for non-compliance, and many gave more than 1 reason.
