Developing more inclusive deferral policies for blood and plasma donors

What is this research about?

Deferral policies for blood and plasma donors are a key element in ensuring the safety of the blood system. In the 1980s, when it was established that patients contracted HIV from blood transfusions, blood operators began to defer populations at high-risk of exposure to HIV from donating blood. In Canada and elsewhere, men who have sex with men (MSM) were specifically deferred from donating when, early on during the HIV epidemic, this population was identified as high risk.

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