Within the published plasma donation research, little is known about the willingness of men who have sex with men (MSM) Footnote 3 to donate plasma if eligible. All plasma collected is blood-typed and tested for pathogens such as HIV and the hepatitis C virus the plasma is subsequently frozen for distribution to hospitals. Footnote 2 While it is a much less common form of donation in Canada at present, since a higher volume of plasma can be collected each time, plasmapheresis (source) donation is considered more efficient for the blood system. In “source plasma” (or “plasmapheresis” donation), an apheresis machine extracts plasma from whole blood and returns components such as platelets and red and white blood cells back into the donor. This plasma collected from “recovered” plasma is used for both transfusion and fractionation. In what is called “recovered plasma”, plasma and other blood components are separated from whole blood post-donation. Footnote 1 Plasma is collected in two different ways. Ĭanadian Blood Services and its sister blood operator organization in the province of Québec, Héma-Québec, do not compensate donors for any form of blood donation, including plasma donation. Canadian Blood Services has also expressed its commitment to maintaining the safety of the supply while increasing national plasma sufficiency, arguing that there is a “looming threat to the supply of plasma” within a national and international context where “demand for plasma is rapidly growing”. The medical importance of plasma in making a lifesaving difference for patients is part of Canada’s blood operators’ messaging to potential donors. The protein-rich component of plasma is essential for manufacturing treatment drugs and therapies. The transfusion of plasma-the liquid component of blood, excluding red and white blood cells, and platelets-is used for individuals with chronic and genetic conditions such as bleeding disorders, burns, and immunodeficiency. While motivations, deterrents, and the social meanings attributed to whole blood donation have received considerable scholarly attention much less is known about the donation of plasma, particularly when non-remunerated. 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. 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. 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. When discussing plasma, many men reflected on the legacy of blood donor policy-related discrimination. 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. However, this willingness was complicated by the fact that most participants had limited knowledge of plasma donation and were unsure of its medical importance. 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. Transcripts were coded in NVivo following inductive thematic analysis. Men received some basic information on plasma donation prior to answering questions. 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. In this analysis, we explored the willingness of Canadian GBM to donate plasma, even if they were not eligible to donate blood. Our previous research revealed that gay, bisexual, queer, and other MSM (GBM) supported making blood donation policies gender-neutral and behaviour-based. This time-based deferment has reduced since 2013 from an initial lifetime ban, to five-years, one-year, and now three-months. 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.
0 kommentar(er)
