Research on more inclusive donation policies recognized by international journal as a top-cited publication

A publication describing research activities supported through Canadian Blood Services’ MSM Research Program has been acknowledged by Vox Sanguinis, the ISBT’s International Journal of Transfusion Medicine, as one of their top 10 most-cited publications from 2024. In the world of peer-reviewed literature, the number of citations a publication receives can be one aspect used to describe the publication’s  influence on enhancing knowledge and research impact.

The publication, End of selection criteria based on sexual orientation: An international symposium on alternatives to donation deferral (January 2024), describes how an international group of experts came together in April 2023 to discuss gender-neutral donation policy approaches – including the Canadian experience from implementation of sexual behaviour-based screening questions in 2022. The symposium highlighted key considerations related to the implementation of more inclusive donation policies, including summaries of the approaches taken by seven different high-income countries towards blood donation eligibility screening questions.

Overall, the experience with gender-neutral donor selection criteria was reported to have been largely positive; with key takeaways highlighting how changes are a significant step forward in improving the inclusiveness of blood donation.

This publication involved members of Canadian Blood Services’ reseach network including Dr. Mindy Goldman, Dr. Sheila O'Brien, Dr. Steve Drews, and collaborators, while the symposium was organized by Dr. Antoine Lewin from Hema-Quebec. According to journal metrics available at the time of this posting, the article has been cited more than 10 times in subsequent publications, including by researchers at Australian Red Cross Lifeblood who published the results of qualitative studies from an Australian setting in the same journal in 2025.

This publication was only one of the impactful research outputs stemming from Canadian Blood Services MSM Research Program and the MSM Plasma Research Program funded activities. Beginning in 2017, these programs supported 19 total research projects with funding from Health Canada to help inform more inclusive eligibility criteria for whole blood and plasma donation.   

Says Dr. Mindy Goldman, who has since announced a retirement from her role as medical director with Canadian Blood Services donation policy and studies team:

“The high number of citations demonstrates that the exchange of international approaches and data about sexual risk screening was clearly of interest to the greater transfusion medicine community. This knowledge translation activity will encourage other blood suppliers and regulatory authorities to reconsider their approach to sexual risk screening.”

Since this publication was completed, further publications from projects involving Canadian Blood Services research team members have continued to contribute to understanding of the post-implementation impacts of sexual behaviour-based screening questions, including:

• February 2024: Advancing gender inclusivity for Two‐Spirit, trans, nonbinary and other gender‐diverse blood and plasma donors

  • This qualitative, community-based study examined the perspectives of Two-Spirit, trans, non-binary and other gender-diverse donors regarding questions about gender and sex-assigned at birth during donor registration.

• June – October 2025: Compliance with gender‐neutral sexual behavior‐based blood donor screening questions and Perceptions of donor screening – Do I always need to tell the truth?

  • These survey-based assessments of donor responses to screening questions provided important contributions to understanding of deferral criteria compliance, demonstrating that deferral criteria which are not perceived as “risky” by the donor are less likely to be effective as donors appear to make a judgement as to what they disclose.

• December 2025: Experience of blood donation and return for subsequent donation among new and repeat donors

  • One of the final outputs from a project funded through the MSM Plasma Program, this publication details the perceptions of sexual behaviour-based screening questions among new and repeat (veteran) blood donors, identifying predictors of repeat donation that may help to strengthen donor retention, and the experiences that could deter donors from future participation.

To learn more about all of the projects supported through Canadian Blood Services MSM Research and MSM Plasma Research programs, visit: Evolving eligibility for men who have sex with men

To learn more about the current sexual behaviour-based screening process and frequently asked questions, visit: Sexual behaviour-based screening | Blood.ca

Canadian Blood Services – Driving world-class innovation

Through discovery, development and applied research, Canadian Blood Services drives world-class innovation in blood transfusion, cellular therapy and transplantation—bringing clarity and insight to an increasingly complex healthcare future. Our dedicated research team and extended network of partners engage in exploratory and applied research to create new knowledge, inform and enhance best practices, contribute to the development of new services and technologies, and build capacity through training and collaboration. Find out more about our research impact. 

The opinions reflected in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Canadian Blood Services nor do they reflect the views of Health Canada or any other funding agency.