First-time blood donor demographics and characteristics during the individual donor assessment versus 3-month deferral policies for high-risk behaviors

Galen Conti; Emilya Huseynova; Susan L Stramer; Roger Y Dodd; Rita Reik; Brian Custer; Brian Engel; Benyam Hailu; Hong Yang; Edward P Notari 4th

doi:10.1111/trf.70269

First-time blood donor demographics and characteristics during the individual donor assessment versus 3-month deferral policies for high-risk behaviors

Transfusion. 2026 Jun 6. doi: 10.1111/trf.70269. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ American Red Cross Biomedical Services, Medical and Scientific Office, Washington, DC, USA.
² Infectious Disease Consultant, North Potomac, Maryland, USA.
³ OneBlood, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA.
⁴ Vitalant Research Institute, San Francisco, California, USA.
⁵ New York Blood Center Enterprises, New York, New York, USA.
⁶ National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
⁷ US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.

PMID: 42249799
DOI: 10.1111/trf.70269

Abstract

Introduction: The US adopted an individual donor assessment (IDA) policy in 2023 to evaluate blood donor risk, potentially resulting in more eligible donors and first-time donors (FTDs). FTDs are associated with higher transfusion-transmissible infectious disease (TTID) risk. Thus, we compared FTD demographics, characteristics, and return behavior during the first 2 years of the IDA compared to the previous 2 years during the 3-month deferral (3MD) policy.

Methods: FTD donation data from the transfusion-transmissible infections monitoring system (TTIMS) during the initial 2 years of IDA were compared to the preceding 2 years (3MD). Descriptive statistics were used to assess changes in FTD demographics, donation characteristics, state of residence, and return behavior during the IDA policy compared to the 3MD policy.

Results: There were slightly over 4 million donations from FTDs during the entire study period, with a 6% increase overall during the IDA period, led mostly by male FTDs (14% increase). Increases were observed in most other demographic/characteristic groups except for a few (female, aged 16-24, or other procedure types). There was a higher absolute number of returning donors and subsequent donations from the FTDs during the IDA period compared to the previous period. The Northeastern US states were found to have the highest increase in FTDs.

Conclusions: There were variable increases in FTDs among most demographic and characteristic groups post-implementation of the IDA policy, notably among men. Although attributability to the new policy is unclear, blood availability may increase with such policies. Continued monitoring will ensure blood safety during donor policy changes.

Keywords: blood donors; demographics; eligibility policies.

Abstract

Grants and funding