Operational impact of individual risk assessment options

This project addresses the second research priority - research to evaluate operational feasibility of potential donor deferral policies and their acceptability. Because some potential deferral policies would involve asking more detailed personal questions, some currently eligible donors could be deferred. Moreover, if questions are unacceptable to some donors, there is a chance they will either choose not to donate, or fail to disclose the information asked about. A national donor survey will be carried out in which donors will receive one of two study questionnaires. One questionnaire will be used to estimate the percentage of donors who would be deferred if potential donor deferral policies were implemented. The other questionnnaire will be used to determine the percentage of donors who find particular questions unacceptable and to examine this by donor characteristics (age, sex, ethnic group). One on one interviews with donors will explore their feelings about potential questions, why they may be uncomfortable with certain questions and how the questions could be modified to make them more acceptable. The findings of this study will help inform decisions concerning donor deferral policies and the potential impact on blood donor deferral.

O'BRIEN, Sheila

Canadian Blood Services

MSM Research Grant Program

Ontario

$168,000