Blood donation practice by men who have sex with men and perceptions of accessibility in blood banks after the flexibilization of deferral policies in Brazil

• Grant number: 23/05727-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: October 01, 2023
• End date: October 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Public Health
• Principal Investigator: Edson Zangiacomi Martinez
• Grantee: Guilherme Galdino
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/07787-0 - Access to health services and HIV prevention measures among men who have sex with men: a study with Brazilian immigrants in Portugal, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

Introduction: The Brazilian regulations on blood donation by men who have sex with men (MSM), in force since 2004 and valid until April 2020, considered MSM as temporarily ineligible to donate for a period of 12 months after the last sexual relationship considered risky. This restriction was overturned in May 2020, motivated by strong pressure due to the decrease in donations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the evolution of research on new therapies to control the epidemic through plasma transfusion. Objective: Following the relaxation of regulations, no study has yet proposed to evaluate the practice of donation by MSM, a gap that the present proposal aims to fill. As a second objective, we intend to evaluate the MSM population's perception of accessibility to donation, taking into account geographical, economic, cultural and functional aspects. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study considering the Brazilian population of MSM, with non-probability sampling obtained through the snowball method. The procedures for conducting the study will occur in four moments: a) mapping of partner organisations; b) contact and consolidation of partnerships; c) selection of seeds; d) data collection. The questionnaires will be administered via the Internet using the electronic data collection tool REDCap. The online questionnaire will consist of a series of questions divided into sections such as socio-demographic data, questionnaire on blood donation practices, questionnaire on perception of accessibility and questionnaire on discomfort in answering additional questions on sexual behaviour in the screening interview at blood banks.