Should men who have ever had sex with men be allowed to donate blood in Brazil?

Autor(es)

Martinez, Edson Zangiacomi ; Galdino, Guilherme ; Zucoloto, Miriane Lucindo

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Hematology, Transfusion and Cell Therapy; v. 46, n. 4, p. 4-pg., 2024-09-17.

Resumo

Many countries have modified their policies on banning or deferring blood donation by men who have sex with men (MSM) in light of ethical concerns and new evidence about transfusion risks. In Brazil, MSM were not eligible to donate blood unless they had been celibate for the previous 12 months. However, in May 2020, the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court overturned this restriction. Many authors have attempted to stress possible risks of transfusion-transmitted infection under various scenarios of changes in bans or restrictions on donations by MSM using mathematical models, but we consider that it is a difficult task due to the wide variety of sexual behaviors, attitudes, and practices. Among these factors, we highlight sex under the influence of illicit drugs, and the fact that people with an undetectable human immunodeficiency virus viral load have the potential to transmit should their blood be transfused. Despite these possible risks, we believe that some MSM can donate blood regardless of the time elapsed since their last sexual contact, especially because blood donations by MSM were occurring even when there were time-based deferral rules. Blood banks should always seek to use screening algorithms to identify high-risk sexual behaviors using gender-neutral criteria, and education about transfusion risks should be offered to healthcare workers and MSM. (c) 2024 Associacao Brasileira de Hematologia, Hemoterapia e Terapia Celular. Published by Elsevier Espa & ntilde;a, S.L.U. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 20/02187-4 - Atitude e prática da doação de sangue por homens que fazem sexo com homens e os efeitos da flexibilização das restrições devido à pandemia de Covid-19 no risco transfusional
• Beneficiário: Miriane Lucindo Zucoloto
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 19/00556-5 - Percepções, atitudes e práticas da população LGBTQ em relação à doação de sangue
• Beneficiário: Guilherme Galdino
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Iniciação Científica
• Processo FAPESP: 23/10473-5 - Doação de sangue entre gays, bissexuais e homens que fazem sexo com homens após a flexibilização das políticas de diferimento no Brasil
• Beneficiário: Edson Zangiacomi Martinez
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular