Today, the deferral period is six months for those who have been exposed to the risk of infection. Belonging to the group of men who have sex with men is one of the factors considered to pose a risk, which has made it difficult for this group to donate blood.
The risk assessment will now be revised, and the deferral period will be the same for all who change sexual partners.
The deferral period for those who change partners will be four months for everyone, regardless of gender and sexual orientation, says Linda Savolainen, investigator at the National Board of Health and Welfare.
A prerequisite for individual-based blood donation to be possible is, according to the National Board of Health and Welfare, the introduction of a new and more sensitive method for screening blood donors, known as the NAT test. With this test method, infections will be able to be detected faster and shorten the period from when a blood donor becomes infected to when the infection is detected.
It is still unclear when the revised risk assessment can become a reality.
The changes require an amendment to the National Board of Health and Welfare's regulations on blood donation and the introduction of the NAT test. It is a priority and the work has begun, but I cannot say exactly how long it will take, says Linda Savolainen.
Several countries, both within and outside the EU, have introduced individual-based risk assessment for blood donors. The National Board of Health and Welfare has gathered experiences from these countries and investigated which model can be introduced in Sweden while maintaining patient safety. The investigation was commissioned by the government.
Maria Stensson/TT
Facts: Current deferral period for blood donation
TT
Those who want to donate blood must fill out a health declaration. There, they must state whether they have been exposed to blood-borne infections in any way.
If someone has been infected, they may be in the so-called window period, i.e., the time it takes from the infection to when a potential infection can be detected through testing. The deferral periods are in place to allow for potential infections to be detected.
Blood can be donated at the earliest six months after a high-risk situation for contracting an infectious disease that can be transmitted through blood. High risk refers, for example, to situations where a person has had sex in exchange for money, drugs, or other compensation, a man who has had sexual intercourse with a man, a woman who has had sexual intercourse with a man who has or has had sexual intercourse with a man.
Source: National Board of Health and Welfare
