‘One step closer’: Acceptability of a programme of plasma donation for fractionation from men who have sex with men

Jessica Caruso; Marc Germain; Gaston Godin; Geneviève Myhal; Frédérick Pronovost; Michel Morin; Joanne Otis

doi:10.1111/vox.12827

Barriers and enablers to source plasma donation by gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men under revised eligibility criteria: protocol for a multiple stakeholder feasibility study

Health Research Policy and Systems ◽

10.1186/s12961-020-00643-4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Elisabeth Vesnaver ◽

Mindy Goldman ◽

Sheila O’Brien ◽

Paul MacPherson ◽

Terrie Butler-Foster ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Translation ◽

Feasibility Study ◽

Blood Donation ◽

Integrated Knowledge Translation ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

Barriers And Enablers ◽

Plasma Donation ◽

Modifiable Factors ◽

Sex With Men ◽

Integrated Knowledge

Abstract Background Blood donation policy in Canada for gay, bisexual and other men who have had sex with men (gbMSM) has changed progressively in the last decade from indefinite deferral to 3-month deferral from last male-to-male sex. Driven by safety data and overseen by the national regulator, more inclusive policies continue to redress the disparity in donation for gbMSM. At the same time, the need for source plasma to prepare fractionated blood products is growing worldwide. The collection and processing of source plasma ensures greater safety compared to whole blood donation with respect to transfusion-transmitted infection. This greater safety offers an opportunity to evolve policies for gbMSM from time-based to behaviour-based deferral using revised eligibility criteria. However, changing policies does not in itself necessarily guarantee that gbMSM will donate or that staff in donor clinics are ready to support them to do so. In anticipation of a move to behaviour-based donation screening for gbMSM in Canada, we aim to assess the acceptability of and perceived barriers and enablers to source plasma donation using revised screening criteria for gbMSM among key stakeholders to inform policy implementation strategies. Methods This mixed-methods feasibility study will involve gbMSM and donor centre staff to understand modifiable barriers to implementing more inclusive eligibility criteria. Key informant interviews and surveys will be rooted in the Theoretical Domains Framework to identify modifiable factors associated with source plasma donation motives in gbMSM and training needs in donation centre staff. We will use an integrated knowledge translation approach involving a partnership between researchers, the national blood operator and gbMSM, situating knowledge users as key research team members to ensure their perspectives inform all aspects of the research. Discussion Our integrated knowledge translation approach will provide a more comprehensive and collaborative understanding of blood operator and gbMSM needs while accelerating the implementation of study findings. Given the historical backdrop of the decades of exclusion of sexually active gbMSM from blood donation, this study has the potential not only to inform a process and policy for gbMSM to donate source plasma, a blood product, but also offers opportunities for new relationships between these knowledge users.

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Stepping Stones or Second Class Donors?: a qualitative analysis of gay, bisexual, and queer men’s perspectives on plasma donation policy in Canada

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10480-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Daniel Grace ◽

Mark Gaspar ◽

Benjamin Klassen ◽

David Lessard ◽

Praney Anand ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Donor ◽

Blood Donation ◽

Stepping Stones ◽

Plasma Donation ◽

Willingness To Donate ◽

Successful Establishment ◽

Plasma Donor ◽

Sex With Men ◽

One Year ◽

Donor Policies

Abstract Background Men who have sex with men (MSM) are not eligible to donate blood or plasma in Canada if they have had sex with another man in the last 3 months. This time-based deferment has reduced since 2013; from an initial lifetime ban, to five-years, one-year, and now three-months. Our previous research revealed that gay, bisexual, queer, and other MSM (GBM) supported making blood donation policies gender-neutral and behaviour-based. In this analysis, we explored the willingness of Canadian GBM to donate plasma, even if they were not eligible to donate blood. Methods We conducted in-depth interviews with 39 HIV-negative GBM in Vancouver (n = 15), Toronto (n = 13), and Montreal (n = 11), recruited from a large respondent-driven sampling study called Engage. Men received some basic information on plasma donation prior to answering questions. Transcripts were coded in NVivo following inductive thematic analysis. Results Many GBM expressed a general willingness to donate plasma if they became eligible; like with whole blood donation, GBM conveyed a strong desire to help others in need. However, this willingness was complicated by the fact that most participants had limited knowledge of plasma donation and were unsure of its medical importance. Participants’ perspectives on a policy that enabled MSM to donate plasma varied, with some viewing this change as a “stepping stone” to a reformed blood donation policy and others regarding it as insufficient and constructing GBM as “second-class” donors. When discussing plasma, many men reflected on the legacy of blood donor policy-related discrimination. Our data reveal a significant plasma policy disjuncture—a gulf between the critical importance of plasma donation from the perspective of Canada’s blood operators and patients and the feelings of many GBM who understood this form of donation as less important. Conclusions Plasma donor policies must be considered in relation to MSM blood donation policies to understand how donor eligibility practices are made meaningful by GBM in the context of historical disenfranchisement. Successful establishment of a MSM plasma donor policy will require extensive education, explicit communication of how this new policy contributes to continued/stepwise reform of blood donor policies, and considerable reconciliation with diverse GBM communities.

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HIV residual risk in Canada for apheresis source plasma donation without deferral for men who have sex with men

Vox Sanguinis ◽

10.1111/vox.13176 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Eliana Aubé ◽

Antoine Lewin ◽

Sheila F. O'Brien ◽

Yves Grégoire ◽

Josiane Pillonel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Residual Risk ◽

Plasma Donation ◽

Sex With Men

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Determinants of the intention to participate in a programme of plasma donation for fractionation among men who have sex with men

Vox Sanguinis ◽

10.1111/vox.13110 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ludivine Veillette‐Bourbeau ◽

Joanne Otis ◽

Antoine Lewin ◽

Gaston Godin ◽

Marc Germain ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plasma Donation ◽

Intention To Participate ◽

Sex With Men

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An Interactive Minicomputer Program for the Indexing and Simulation of Electron Diffraction Patterns

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100092670 ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 34 ◽

pp. 542-543

Author(s):

R.P. Goehner ◽

W.T. Hatfield ◽

Prakash Rao

Keyword(s):

Electron Diffraction ◽

Real Time ◽

Pattern Analysis ◽

Flow Diagram ◽

Hard Copy ◽

Time Analysis ◽

Real Time Analysis ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

One Step ◽

Diffraction Patterns

Computer programs are now available in various laboratories for the indexing and simulation of transmission electron diffraction patterns. Although these programs address themselves to the solution of various aspects of the indexing and simulation process, the ultimate goal is to perform real time diffraction pattern analysis directly off of the imaging screen of the transmission electron microscope. The program to be described in this paper represents one step prior to real time analysis. It involves the combination of two programs, described in an earlier paper(l), into a single program for use on an interactive basis with a minicomputer. In our case, the minicomputer is an INTERDATA 70 equipped with a Tektronix 4010-1 graphical display terminal and hard copy unit.A simplified flow diagram of the combined program, written in Fortran IV, is shown in Figure 1. It consists of two programs INDEX and TEDP which index and simulate electron diffraction patterns respectively. The user has the option of choosing either the indexing or simulating aspects of the combined program.

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Nutrient-regulated gene expression in eukaryotes

Biochemical Society Symposium ◽

10.1042/bss0730085 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 73 ◽

pp. 85-96 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Richard J. Reece ◽

Laila Beynon ◽

Stacey Holden ◽

Amanda D. Hughes ◽

Karine Rébora ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Rna Polymerase ◽

Rna Polymerase Ii ◽

Transcriptional Control ◽

Direct Interaction ◽

Signalling Pathways ◽

A Cell ◽

One Step ◽

Higher Eukaryotes ◽

Regulated Gene Expression

The recognition of changes in environmental conditions, and the ability to adapt to these changes, is essential for the viability of cells. There are numerous well characterized systems by which the presence or absence of an individual metabolite may be recognized by a cell. However, the recognition of a metabolite is just one step in a process that often results in changes in the expression of whole sets of genes required to respond to that metabolite. In higher eukaryotes, the signalling pathway between metabolite recognition and transcriptional control can be complex. Recent evidence from the relatively simple eukaryote yeast suggests that complex signalling pathways may be circumvented through the direct interaction between individual metabolites and regulators of RNA polymerase II-mediated transcription. Biochemical and structural analyses are beginning to unravel these elegant genetic control elements.

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