Oral Abstract
Public Health/Policy and Ethics
Galen Conti, MPH
Lead Epidemiologist
American Red Cross
Rockville, Maryland
Disclosure information not submitted.
The United States updated its blood donor eligibility policy in 2023 to an individual donor assessment (IDA) eliminating time-based deferrals for males who report sexual contact with other men or females who report sexual contact with men who have sex with other men. Previously, a 3-month deferral (3MD) was given to these groups. Since more individuals have become eligible to donate blood with IDA, and first-time donors (FTDs) are associated with higher transfusion-transmissible infectious disease (TTID) risk, we compared FTD behavior and characteristics during the first 12-months (mos) post IDA compared to the preceding 12-mos.
Study
Design/Methods:
Allogeneic and directed donations from FTDs from the Transfusion-Transmissible Infections Monitoring System (TTIMS) during the initial 12-mos of IDA were compared to the preceding 12-mos during the 3MD policy period. Each TTIMS-participating blood center had a unique implementation date for IDA between August and October 2023; this date was used as a basis for defining the study start and end date for each blood center. Using descriptive statistics, FTD count, demographics, donation characteristics, and return behavior were compared by policy period. The percentage change between periods was used to identify states with an increase or decrease in the number of FTDs.
Results/Findings:
There were 2,024,098 donations from FTDs, with 998,972 in the 3MD period and 1,025,126 in the IDA period (increase of 26,154 donors) (Table). Sex, age group, race/ethnicity, region, site type, and procedure type were all significantly different from each policy period, with gains in most categories except among donors who are female, aged 16-24, Asian, or donating a non-whole blood or red blood cell unit (other procedure). The IDA period had a longer mean number of days between a FTD’s initial donation and immediate subsequent donation (interdonation interval) than the 3MD period and had a higher absolute number of returning donors and subsequent donations from FTDs. States with the highest increase in FTDs when the policy was changed from 3MD to IDA were Rhode Island (36.1%), Delaware (29.0%), and Maine (26.0%); states with the largest decreases in FTDs were Tennessee (-10.4%), Louisiana (-10.0%), and Alabama (-8.9%).
Conclusions:
Our results show varied increases in FTDs among most demographic and characteristic groups; generally, early increases occurred in the Northeastern US region while decreases occurred in some South-Central states. The significance of these changes will be further compared via TTID prevalence/incidence.