Update on Donor Gender Identity and Risk-Based Assessment for Sexual Behavior Criteria (23EL-812)

Please note: AABB reserves the right to make updates to this program.

• Educational Track: Quality Education
• Topic: Hemovigilance
• Intended Audience: Directors, Donor Recruitment Staff, Hospital Blood Banks, Managers/Supervisors, Medical Directors, Nurses, Research Scientists, Residents/Fellows, Scientists, Students (MD, MT, SBB)
• Teaching Level: Advanced, Basic

• Director/Moderator: Lynsi Rahorst, MHPE, MLS(ASCP)SBB^CM, Manager, Education and Training IRL/Genomics, New York Blood Center Enterprises, New York, NY
  Speakers:

  • Mindy Goldman, MD, Medical Director, Donation Policy and Studies, Canadian Blood Services, Ottawa, Canada
  • Nancy L. Van Buren, MD, Medical Director, Innovative Blood Resources and Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City, divisions of New York Blood Center Enterprises, St. Paul, MN

• Program Description

  The transfusion medicine community and relevant regulatory bodies have a responsibility to maintain a safe blood supply, and scientific evidence guides rules for donor eligibility. Historically, men who have sex with men (MSM) have been permanently deferred from donating. More recently, shortened deferral periods for this group have been implemented, but these changes still result in the deferral of sexually active MSM. Because of gender based questions on the donor history questionnaire and donor testing strategies based on gender, there are challenges associated with donors who are gender nonconforming. An ideal approach for these donor groups would foster inclusivity and respect, minimize deferrals, and increase donor eligibility, while remaining evidence-based to preserve the safety of the blood supply.

  In this program, the faculty will discuss the history of MSM deferrals and the move towards risk-based assessment of donor eligibility. They will address the challenges that gender nonconforming donors present to blood collection facilities and demonstrate how a blood center can overcome these challenges. This program will include both American and Canadian perspectives on these topics.

  Learning Objectives

  After participating in this educational activity, participants should be able to:

  • Describe the recently implemented approach to risk-based sexual behavior assessment for all donors in Canada.
  • Outline the evidence used to assess the impact of changing to gender neutral, behavior-based questions on the safety and adequacy of the blood supply.
  • Describe findings from the ADVANCE study in the U.S. to support FDA approval to move from time-based MSM questions to individualized risk assessment of donors.
  • Discuss donor eligibility issues for gender non-conforming donors and describe how to overcome these challenges.

  Registration

  Please note: if you registered for the live eCast you do not need to register for the on-demand eCast (access to the on-demand eCast was included with the live eCast registration.

  Single Viewer	Register
  Group Viewing	Register

  Continuing Education Credit

  This activity is eligible for one (1) continuing education credit/contact hour for Physicians, Nurses (including California-based nursing professionals through CBRN), California Lab Personnel, Florida Lab Personnel and General Participation credit. AABB reserves the right to reduce or increase the number of credits granted based on the final activity duration. For more information on each credit type please visit our Continuing Education Credits webpage.

  There is no financial support for this activity.

  

  In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) and CME Outfitters, LLC. CME Outfitters LLC. is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

  Physicians (ACCME): CME Outfitters, LLC, designates this live activity for a maximum of one (1) AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM. CME Outfitters, LLC, designates this enduring activity for a maximum of one (1) AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

  Claiming Credit
  Live Activity - Upon completion of the live activity, you will receive instructions to complete your evaluation, which is necessary to claim credit and receive your certificate of attendance/completion (credit must be claimed by the date provided in the instructions). The evaluation can be found by logging into the AABB Education Platform.

  Enduring Activity - Once the enduring (on-demand) program is available, you will receive instructions to access the AABB Education Platform. Upon completion of viewing the enduring activity, you will need to complete the evaluation, which is necessary to claim credit and receive your certificate of completion (credit must be claimed by the date provided in the AABB Education Platform).

  Program & Credit Expiration Dates:

  • Live Activity Program Date: March 8, 2023; Credit Expiration Date: April 8, 2023
  • Enduring Activity Program Dates: March 8, 2023 – March 7, 2026; Credit Expiration Date: March 7, 2026

  Disclosure Declaration

  It is the policy of CME Outfitters, LLC, and the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies to ensure independence, balance, objectivity, and scientific rigor and integrity in all of their CE activities. Faculty must disclose to the participants any relationships with commercial companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. CME Outfitters, LLC, has evaluated, identified, and mitigated any potential conflicts of interest through a rigorous content validation procedure, use of evidence-based data/research, and a multidisciplinary peer review process. The following information is for participant information only. It is not assumed that the presence of such relationships will have a negative impact on the presentations.

  Disclosures for the planners of this event can be found here. Disclosures for the program faculty, peer reviewers, and CME Outfitters, LLC. personnel are provided at the beginning of the program.

  Faculty Biographies

  Dr. Mindy Goldman is a clinical hematologist with a fellowship in Transfusion Medicine. She has been active in many facets of transfusion medicine in Canada, including optimization of the donor screening process and donor and recipient safety issues. She is currently the Medical Director of Donation Policy and Studies at Canadian Blood Services.

  
  
  

  Lynsi Rahorst is the Manager of Education and Training for the IRL and Genomics laboratories for New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe). She has been active in the Heart of America Association of Blood Banks, has served on education-related committees for AABB, and is active in the AABB Spanish language section. Lynsi is passionate about educating and training the next generation of leaders in immunohematology and genomics, as well as supporting blood banking educational initiatives in Spanish-speaking countries.

  
  

  Dr. Nancy Van Buren is a pathologist with fellowship training and subspecialty certification in Transfusion Medicine. She has been active in many facets of transfusion medicine in the United States, including donor collections and testing, donor hemovigilance and recipient transfusion safety. She is a member of the AABB Donor Hemovigilance Working Group and the Donor History Task Force. She currently serves as a Medical Director with New York Blood Center Enterprises.