Willingness and eligibility to donate blood under 12-month and 3-month deferral policies among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men in Ontario, Canada.

ABSTRACT: In Canada, gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) are a population that are willing to donate blood, if eligible, but have a history of ineligibility and deferrals due to concerns that their blood poses an increased risk of HIV entering the blood supply. Our objective was to examine the proportion of GBMSM who are willing and eligible to donate under the 12-month deferral policy (implemented in 2016) and the 3-month deferral policy (implemented in 2019). Data for this study comes from the #iCruise study, a mixed cohort study designed to examine sexual health outreach experiences through online services and mobile apps among GBMSM in Ontario. A total of 910 participants were recruited between July 2017 and January 2018. Eligibility criteria include identify as male (cisge

SUBMITTER: Brennan DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10021805 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature