NOTES

A donor is the gender that they say they are when they attend to donate. The donor’s Hb must be considered. The minimum Hb requirement for men is 1 g/dl higher than that for women. The required Hb level is that of the donor’s current gender. The higher Hb concentration of men, compared to women, is related to testosterone levels. A person undergoing gender reassignment may be prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on an on-going basis but this is not a reason for deferral, if the donor is on a stable dose of HRT for 12 months. These hormones can have implications for Hb and blood volume assessments. Transgender/non-binary donors who are on long term dosage of HRT will see their haemoglobin level adjust to that of their gender identity (SoRelle et al, 2019) Transgender/non-binary donors are not accepted to donate by apheresis because of concerns about the accuracy of estimating their blood volume. All transgender/non-binary donors must be assessed by a RN on each attendance on clinic

Assess the total blood volume of all first time transgender donors (male and female), all returning transgender donors and all regular transgender donors who are under 26 years of age

Sexual risk will be assessed using the Individual Donor Risk Assessment (IDRA), these questions are gender neutral

All transgender/non-binary donors who have been assessed by a Donor Consultant must be assessed by an RN on each attendance on clinic. They must be asked if any changes have occurred since they were interviewed by the Donor Consultant. Relevant changes could include: change in medication, change in HRT, change in Hb level or change in sexual behaviour. The donor will be accepted or deferred accordingly

 If a donor identifies as non-binary, explain to the donor that our computer systems can only operate with a male or female gender currently. The donor can donate under their assigned birth gender and answer the relevant questions (if they are happy to do so). These donors do not need to be referred to the Donor Consultant in the NBC and can donate. If they would like to donate under a gender different to their assigned birth gender; referral for a TG assessment will be required

ACCEPT:

• Once medical assessment is complete and relevant codes aged and in situ

DEFER:

• First time donor who identifies as transgender/non-binary, complete EDI and a confidential information form and refer it to the Donor Consultant NBC
• Regular or returning donor who make it known that they are transgender/non-binary and have not been assessed by a Donor Consultant return confidential information form to the Donor Consultant NBC
• Any donor that is scheduled to undergo major surgery in the next 90 days

 REFER:

• If a transgender/non-binary donor has been medically assessed but does not have TG assessment test code (7400) applied to their records. The donor is deferred and referred to the Donor Consultant in the NBC

SEE IF RELEVANT

• BLOOD SAFETY
• PrEP
• IBTS/MEDD/POL/0017
• IBTS/MED/SOP/0058
• IBTS/MEDV/DI/0001