Individual Donor Assessment Takes Effect in Iceland

The Icelandic Blood Bank implemented individual donor assessment (IDA) on Tuesday after the Icelandic Ministry of Health adopted new regulations, expanding blood donor eligibility for some gay and bisexual men.

The new regulations establish uniform, gender-neutral blood donation eligibility criteria for all donors, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Donors may receive a temporary four-month deferral if their reported sexual behavior indicates a significantly increased risk of transmitting serious blood-borne infections.

The change complements the organization’s introduction of nucleic acid testing (NAT) of all donated blood for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV, which took place more than a year ago.  The blood bank has also updated its donor questionnaires, educational materials and quality documents to implement IDA.