Blood Donation by Men Who Have Sex with Men: Updates on Practice and Associated Factors after the End of Restrictions in Brazil

Abstract

Objectives: It has been four years since the restrictions on blood donations by men who have sex with men (MSM) were lifted in Brazil. This study seeks to provide updated data on blood donation practice within the MSM population and to evaluate their association with sociodemographic factors and risk behaviors. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study based on an open web survey. A self-administered survey with sociodemographic/behavioral information, a blood donation practice questionnaire and risk behaviors variables, including the Risk Behavior Score (RBS) was used. Participants were recruited through targeted advertisements on social networks. Results: A total of 1,433 MSM were included in the study sample (mean age: 32.1 years; sd=9.9 years). Of these, 47.3% have given blood in their lifetime and more than 80% of donors declared that they had already donated before the changes in deferral policies.  The blood donation was more frequent among MSM aged over 35 years, with higher education, working full-time, in a monogamous relationship and with a steady partner in the last 12 months. No association was observed between having already donated blood and the RBS score or other high risky behaviors. Conclusion: Our results do not provide evidence that MSM who were already donating blood before the policy change or that those who donated in the last year may increase transfusion risk. Studies on blood donation practices among MSM are crucial since the question about sexual orientation has been removed from clinical screening process prior to donation in Brazilian blood banks.

Note:
Funding declaration: This study receive financial support from São Paulo Research Foundation – FAPESP under grants #2020/02187-4; #2023/08187-4; #2023/05727-8; #2023/10473-5, and Brazilian National Research Council – CNPq, grant number 305206/2023-0.

Conflict of Interests: None

No other competing interests declared

Ethics statement: This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo (USP) under registration number CAAE 68353723.6.0000.5440. Respondents gave their consent in the first question of the survey, and they could end their participation at any time

Keywords: blood donation, men who have sex with men, transfusion safety, risk behaviors, public health policies.