Czech Republic Introduces Individual Donor Assessment

The Czech Republic introduced an individual assessment approach to blood donor screening on July 1 and ended its indefinite deferral of men who have sex with men (MSM) from blood donation. The new criteria, developed in cooperation with the Czech Society for Transfusion Medicine, temporarily defer anyone who has had anal intercourse with a new sexual partner or multiple partners in the last four months, regardless of gender.

"Every healthy Czech who wants to help save lives and donate blood should have that opportunity,” said Czech Minister of Health Vlastimil Válek. “Our methodology takes into account the requirement for an individual assessment of the risks associated with sexual activities for each person interested in donating, and this without gender or sexual orientation being a criterion.”

The Czech Republic joins several countries, including Australia, Switzerland and the United States, that have recently expanded or announced plans to expand donor eligibility for MSM. For blood collectors in the U.S., AABB’s complimentary individual donor assessment (IDA) resources are available online to support this donor eligibility expansion.