All prospective blood donors who report behaviors or conditions that may increase risk of transfusion-transmitted infection (TTI) are temporarily deferred from donating. In this study, we evaluate how deferrals for TTI risk impact future donation attempts, ultimately informing how deferral policy changes may affect the military population. This retrospective chart review evaluated all blood donors with pre-donation deferrals at a single site between October 2019 and December 2022. Among the 14 deferral categories, 7 were classified as behaviors or conditions that increase risk of TTI. The rate of donation reattempts within the study period was assessed in donors deferred for TTI risk and compared to that of donors deferred for low hemoglobin matched by sex, age, and military training status. Six thousand three hundred and fifty two (12.8%) of the 49,613 blood donors identified during the study had a pre-donation deferral. The most common reason for pre-donation deferral was anemia (54.2%), but TTI-risk accounted for a significant fraction of deferrals (10.7%). We found that donors who were deferred for TTI risk were significantly less likely to attempt redonation during the study period compared to those deferred for anemia (P < .001). On multivariate analysis, donors deferred for men who have sex with men and travel or residence in a malaria-endemic area were independently associated with a decreased redonation attempt rate and increased time to reattempt. Pre-donation deferrals for TTI risk were associated with a decreased rate of redonation and increased time to reattempt compared to donors deferred for anemia.

In July 2020, Brazil removed the long-standing restrictions on blood donation by men who have sex with men (MSM), shifting donor eligibility criteria towards individual behavioural risk assessment. We sought to establish the impact of this policy change on the safety of the blood supply. This retrospective cross-sectional study evaluated the prevalence and incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and syphilis among blood donors at Fundação Pró-Sangue/Hemocentro de São Paulo. Data were analysed across two periods: before (P1: January 2019-June 2020) and after (P2: July 2020-December 2023) the MSM policy change. Prevalence was assessed in first-time donors, and incidence was calculated among repeat donors. The chi-square testing was used for statistical comparisons (p < 0.05). A total of 560,528 donations were included in the study. There were no significant differences in the prevalence per 100,000 donations of HIV (46.3 vs. 43.5; p = 0.77), HBV (33.3 vs. 27.7; p = 0.56) or HCV (94.1 vs. 72.6; p = 0.09) markers between P1 and P2. However, the prevalence of serological markers for syphilis increased significantly (745.7 vs. 1115.8; p < 0.0001) after the policy change. Donors with positive serological markers for syphilis in P2 were mostly younger and had higher education levels. Lifting the MSM deferral policy in Brazil did not increase the prevalence or incidence of HIV, HBV or HCV markers among blood donors. The observed increase in the prevalence of serological markers for syphilis likely reflects broader population trends. These findings support risk-based donor screening as a safe and equitable approach to blood collection.

As blood donation policies become more inclusive and men who have sex with men (MSM) become eligible, understanding non-donors will become increasingly important. MSM non-donors are often treated as a homogenous group, despite growing evidence that there is no universal non-donor profile. This oversimplification may obscure variation in behavioural risk parameters and does not optimally inform the development of effective recruitment or retention strategies. We aim to address this gap by identifying subgroups of MSM non-donors and examining how their behaviours and attitudinal profiles may inform targeted recruitment efforts. We used data from a cross-sectional voluntary online community survey of HIV risk behaviour and blood donation history. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was used to identify subgroups of MSM who had never donated blood. Attitudes towards the MSM deferral policy, blood service and how civically important they view blood donation were compared across groups. 1339/3838 participants were non-donors. LCA identified four distinct subgroups of non-donors: 'Sexually, but not socially engaged' (16.1%), 'Young and single' (22.1%), 'Monogamous' (28.1%) and 'Socially and sexually engaged' (33.5%). These groups differed in their demographic make-up, social connections, sexual lifestyles and in their attitudes towards blood donation. This study highlights the heterogeneity within MSM non-donors. We propose that the 'Young and single' and 'Monogamous' MSM might be more readily recruited due to their favourable eligibility and attitudinal profile. Furthermore, there is potential need for tailored outreach to maximise future donor engagement and a safe blood supply under individualised donor assessment approaches.

Conformal validation: A deferral policy using uncertainty quantification with a human-in-the-loop for model validation

The implementation of revised blood donor deferral policies may change factors associated with HIV infection in donors. Here, we assessed factors associated with HIV in the U.S. blood donor population between 2015 and 2023. Using exposure data obtained from interviews of HIV cases and matched controls, we investigated sociodemographic and behavioral factors associated with any HIV infection or recently acquired HIV infection, overall and by strata of deferral policy period (lifetime, 12-month and 3-month), for men who have sex with men and other potential risk groups using conditional logistic regression. Multivariable analyses showed that several sociodemographic and behavioral factors were significantly associated with HIV infection, but with no clear evidence of changes in these factors across deferral policy periods. Similarly, several factors were significantly associated with recent HIV infection, with odds ratios similar to those observed for any HIV infection. An association between non-heterosexual orientation and HIV infection remained stable across deferral periods included in the study after adjustment for potential confounders. We found no evidence that non-heterosexual orientation is more strongly associated with recent than with any HIV infection among blood donors. Our findings suggest no major impact of revised deferral policies on HIV risk factors among blood donors, nor among risk factors for any HIV and recent HIV infection in this population. These findings should be reassessed after sufficient accrual of data from the individual donor assessment deferral policy period.

ObjectiveTo examine whether specific attitudes towards blood donation vary across MSM demographic groups; and preliminarily test whether these attitudes predict prior donation behaviour.BackgroundInsights into blood donors' attitudes facilitate effective donor management, especially as policies for men who have sex with men (MSM) become more inclusive. While attitudes towards donating blood can predict donor decisions, it is unclear whether attitudinal factors specific to MSM groups will be important considerations for blood service providers engaging with this newly eligible donor group.MethodsData were drawn from a large (N = 3157) online cross‐sectional survey of MSM in New Zealand. New items were developed to assess three attitudinal constructs: negative attitudes towards the MSM deferral policy, favourable attitudes towards blood services, and the tendency to view blood donation as a form of civic participation and belonging. Univariate analyses descriptively characterised demographic factors associated with those various attitudes, and multivariate logistic regressions were used to predict self‐reported donation histories.ResultsNegative views of deferral policies and blood services varied across sample characteristics in univariate analyses, but did not systematically differ between donors and nondonors. However, a perception of blood donation as a means of civic belonging was consistently associated with greater donation, including 1.46 times the odds of having ever donated (p < 0.001) and 1.40 times the odds of having donated recently under the current 3‐month deferral policy (p = 0.017).ConclusionThese findings highlight the importance of recognising broader civic‐related attitudes in MSM donor research and engagement strategies.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: The recent amendment of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 2020 has mandated blood centers to defer the donors who had dental extraction or any dental procedures under anesthesia for 6 months from the day of surgery or procedure due to concern of increased chance of bacteremia in donors following dental manipulation and the chance of transfusion-transmitted infections. This study intended to find if there is an increased rate of bacterial culture positivity or seroprevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTI) in the donors following dental extraction and other dental procedures involving local anesthesia compared to other donors. METHODOLOGY: This was a prospective cohort study wherein the donors who were deferred due to dental extraction or surgery were followed up for 6 months for the persistence of bacteremia in blood by bacterial cultures or seroconversion to any of the transfusion transmission infections mandatorily tested in India, namely Hepatitis B and C, HIV, Syphilis, and Malaria by serological testing methods. The results were compared with an equal number of age- and gender-matched donors as controls. RESULTS: Out of 99 cases, 3 had bacterial culture positivity during the first visit, whereas in the control group, 6 were positive. The Chi-square test value was 1.047, with a P = 0.5 at a 95% confidence interval (CI). There were no reactive results on TTI testing in the cases group during the first visit, and none developed a new viral infection on a follow-up visit. All were nonreactive in controls as well. About 5% of the deferrals (362 out of 7258) could have been reduced if these donors were accepted. CONCLUSION: Our study found no evidence of increased bacterial infections or TTIs following dental procedures. Supported by these study findings, we emphasize the recommendation to revisit and reconsider the rollback of the 6-month blanket deferral policy for dental procedures.

Over time, changes to the deferral policy for males who had sex with other males (MSM) allowed those reporting past MSM to donate if other eligibility criteria were met. We assessed the return rate after the removal of the MSM deferral and transfusion-transmissible infectious disease (TTID) rates in MSM compared to first-time male donors and donors overall. Males presenting to donate at the American Red Cross and self-reported MSM between December 13, 2016 and December 31, 2024 were assessed. TTID rates were determined by evaluating all donors with donation results collected during defined deferral periods. Queries tracked subsequent donations/deferrals post-MSM deferral. Approximately, 9.1 million American Red Cross donors were screened for TTIDs; 0.04% self-identified as MSM. The overall rate of allogeneic donors who screened repeat reactive for markers for hepatits B virus (HBV), hepatits C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human T-lymphotropic virus 1 and 2 (HTLV-1/2), and/or syphilis was 5.6%, 1.9%, and 1.8% among MSM, all donors, and first-time males, respectively. The most frequent marker detected among MSM donors was anti-Treponema pallidum, fo llowed by anti-HBc. There were no HBV, HCV, or HIV nucleic acid testing (NAT)-yield cases detected among MSM donors. Overall, only 10% of MSM donors attempted to donate after expiration/removal of their deferral. The low yield in MSM returns could be attributed to donors not being directly notified of their eligibility, knowledge of on-going deferrable risks, or other factors. Donors with a history of MSM were more likely to screen reactive for TTID marker(s), although not NAT-yield infections indicating absence of recent risk when compared to the overall donor population and first-time males.

Following FDA guidance, US blood collectors changed donor deferral for men who have sex with men (MSM) from indefinite to a 12 month deferral in 2016 (12 m), and for MSM and several other exposure risks to 3 month deferrals in 2020 (3 m). We evaluated first-time donor (FTD) HIV incidence and demographics during these periods. We estimated cross-sectional HIV incidence and incidence rate differences in FTD based on routine donation nucleic acid testing (NAT) and serology with additional limiting antigen (LAg)-Avidity immunoassay and viral load testing. We estimated incidence in the two policy periods (12 and 3 m), incidence trends in two-year intervals between 2015 and 2023, and used multivariable Poisson regression to assess demographic correlates of incident infection. HIV incidence in FTD during the 12 m deferral period was 2.82 infections/105 person-years (PY) [95% CI: 2.12, 3.67] and during the 3 m deferral period, it was 1.88/105 PY (95% CI: 1.18, 2.67), a statistically significant decline (p < .05). Over the period 2015-2023, incidence was stable. Male sex, younger age, Black or African American race, Hispanic ethnicity, and residence in the South were associated with incident infection in regression analysis, but the time-based deferral policy periods were not. HIV incidence in FTD did not increase between 2015 and 2023. An overall decline in HIV incidence in the 3 m deferral period compared with the 12 m deferral period was evident. These results provide no indication of an increased residual risk of transfusion-transmitted HIV from FTD in the United States with the reduced deferral periods.

BackgroundTo minimize the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTI), all prospective blood donors are required to undergo extensive screening via questionnaire and physical exam. Donors who report behaviors or conditions that may increase risk of TTIs are temporarily deferred from donating. In recent years, significant changes to the deferral policy have been instituted to expand the donor eligibility pool and mitigate the blood supply crisis. In this study, we evaluate the impact of deferring donors at increased risk of TTI on future donation attempts to further inform how these policies may affect the military population.MethodsThis retrospective chart review evaluated all blood donors with pre-donation deferrals at a single site between October 2019 to December 2022. Among the fourteen deferral categories, seven were classified as behaviors or conditions that increase risk of TTI including: taking an anti-infective, travel to malaria-endemic area, recent tattoo or piercing, recent sexually transmitted infection (STI), recent COVID-19 infection, man who has sex with men (MSM), or other infectious concern. The rate of donation reattempts within the study period was assessed in donors deferred for TTI risk and compared to that of donors deferred for low hemoglobin matched by sex, age, and BMT status.Results6,352 (12.8%) of the 49,613 blood donors identified during the study had a pre-donation deferral. Over half of all deferrals were due to anemia (54.2%) and approximately a tenth for TTI risk (Table 1). We found that donors who were deferred for TTI risk were significantly less likely to attempt redonation during the study period compared to those deferred for anemia (p< 0.001). On multivariate analysis, donors deferred for MSM and travel or residence in a malaria-endemic area were independently associated with a decreased redonation attempt rate and increased time to reattempt (Table 2, Figure 1).Time to redonation for deferred blood donors with a TTI risk (dark green) or anemia (light blue).ConclusionPre-donation deferrals for TTI risk were associated with a decreased rate of redonation and increased time to reattempt compared to donors deferred for anemia.DisclosuresAll Authors: No reported disclosures

Part I of this Article outlines the government's approach to civil RICO actions involving labor unions, including an overview of the government's prior civil RICO actions and a summary of the types of issues that often arise in such actions. Part II examines the unique issues involved in a civil RICO action brought by a private plaintiff. The principal issue addressed in this Part is whether a private plaintiff can bring an action under the equitable remedies provisions of the RICO statute. This Part also addresses the issues of how a private plaintiff can gain access to information that may be required to prosecute a civil RICO action and how a private plaintiff could pay for such an action.

In their recent Article on the deferral policy of the National Labor Relations Board (Board or NLRB), two attorneys for the United Auto Workers (UAW), Leonard Page and Daniel W. Sherrick, argue that the Board has adopted "an indefensible double standard" by applying its policy of "deferral to arbitration" only to contractual dispute resolution processes but not to intraunion review procedures. By deferring to intraunion procedures, they contend, the Board would further many of the same policy objectives it now achieves by deferring to arbitration, with the added benefit of advancing the interest in democratic union self-government. Moreover, by drawing analogies to exhaustion rules developed for judicial proceedings to enforce the Landrum-Griffin Act and the duty of fair representation (DFR), Page and Sherrick contend that such deferral would appropriately prevent unions from being charged until the highest levels of the union have had the opportunity to decide whether to correct the wrongdoing. However, the reasons they present for their proposal are not persuasive.

The effects and benefits of a latent print AFIS deferral policy

ABSTRACT The Canadian health care system has been the site of a tense relationship between blood donation policies and African Canadians (read as Blacks). This article explores the basis of that strain, specifically the Canadian blood system’s African Indefinite Deferral Policy and its relative underpinnings to, for example, the Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease Deferral Policy. Drawing from various data sources, the article demonstrates the subtle and diffuse aspects of the deferral policies in terms of the relationship between ethnicity and risk. The analysis provides important insights on the policies, based on the pejorative usage of ethnicity, especially its racial context, and related power dynamics, into understanding the lasting and plagued relationship that Blacks have had with the blood donation regime. Addressing questions around the institutional capacity of Canadian Blood Services and Héma Québec in dealing with minority ethnic groups is essential, particularly if the objective of blood donation policies is to address the health needs of Canada’s increasingly diverse population.

PurposeThe adverse interactions between disruptions can increase the supply chain's vulnerability. Accordingly, establishing supply chain resilience to deal with disruptions and employing business continuity planning to preserve risk management achievements is of considerable importance. The aforementioned idea is discussed in this study.Design/methodology/approachThis study proposes a multi-objective optimization model for employing business continuity management and organizational resilience in a supply chain for responding to multiple interrelated disruptions. The improved augmented e-constraint and the scenario-based robust optimization methods are adopted for multi-objective programming and dealing with uncertainty, respectively. A case study of the automotive battery manufacturing industry is also considered to ensure real-world conformity of the model.FindingsThe results indicate that interactions between disruptions remarkably increase the supply chain's vulnerability. Choosing a higher fortification level for the supply chain and foreign suppliers reduces disruption impacts on resources and improves the supply chain's resilience and business continuity. Facilities dispersion, fortification of facilities, lateral transshipment, order deferral policy, dynamic capacity planning and direct transportation of products to markets are the most efficient resilience strategies in the under-study industry.Originality/valueApplying resource allocation planning and portfolio selection to adopt preventive and reactive resilience strategies simultaneously to manage multiple interrelated disruptions in a real-world automotive battery manufacturing industry, maintaining the long-term achievements of supply chain resilience using business continuity management and dynamic capacity planning are the main contributions of the presented paper.

The purpose of this research is to find out the legal protection for the minimum wage deferral policy. And want to know the cancellation of the decision of the governor of Jakarta on the implementation of the minimum wage. This research method uses normative law. Methods of data collection are observation, interviews with the district court judges and prosecutors involved, documentation studies through existing archives on worker protection laws and official records, and supporting books that focus on labor protection. Decree of the Minister of Manpower and Transmigration No. Kep.231/MEN/2003 concerning Suspension of Implementation of the Minimum Wage. In the Jakarta Administrative Court decision Number 62/G/2021/Ptun.Jkt and Appeal Decision No. 10/B/2014/PT.Tun.Jkt, regarding the setting for the deferral of the minimum wage, needs to be reviewed, also regarding the deadline for the completeness of the files in submitting a deferral of the minimum wage. Agreements between employers and labor unions as a prerequisite for employers to carry out are contrary to law. Unions as legal subjects can sue Ptun. Legal settlement of the cancellation of the suspension of the minimum wage, can provide legal certainty for workers, and cause consequences in the settlement through a process at the Industrial Relations Court. Companies that have been declared void of their decision to suspend wages have not carried out their obligations to pay the minimum wage by the provisions.

In Canada, gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) are a population that are willing to donate blood, if eligible, but have a history of ineligibility and deferrals due to concerns that their blood poses an increased risk of HIV entering the blood supply. Our objective was to examine the proportion of GBMSM who are willing and eligible to donate under the 12-month deferral policy (implemented in 2016) and the 3-month deferral policy (implemented in 2019). Data for this study comes from the #iCruise study, a mixed cohort study designed to examine sexual health outreach experiences through online services and mobile apps among GBMSM in Ontario. A total of 910 participants were recruited between July 2017 and January 2018. Eligibility criteria include identify as male (cisgender or transgender); at least 14 years old; having had sex with a man in the previous year or identifying as sexually/romantically attracted to other men or identifying as gay, bisexual, queer or two-spirit; and living or working in Ontario or having visited Ontario four or more times in the past year. Participants completed a baseline and a follow-up questionnaire. A subset of #iCruise participants (n = 447) further completed this questionnaire. Willingness and eligibility to donate blood were assessed under 12-month and 3-month deferral policies. Of the 447 GBMSM surveyed, 309 (69.1%) reported a general interest in donating blood. 109 (24.4%) GBMSM were willing, 75 (16.7%) were eligible, and 24 (5.4%) were both willing and eligible to donate blood under the 12-month deferral policy. Under the 3-month deferral policy, willingness and eligibility to donate blood increased significantly to 42.3% and 29.3%, respectively. The percent of GBMSM who were both willing and eligible to donate blood also increased significantly to 12.3% under the 3-month deferral policy. The increase in willingness to donate blood varied by age, ethnicity, and geographic residence of participants whereas the increase in eligibility to donate blood varied by education level of participants. Under the 3-month deferral policy, GBMSM who were 50 years or older, identified as bisexual or other, had a lower education level, and who were not 'out' to others were more likely to be eligible to donate. GBMSM who reported a general interest in donating blood were more likely to be willing to donate blood under both deferral policies. The most common reason for not being interested in donating blood was the MSM deferral policy itself; many participants interpreted the policy as discriminatory for 'singling out' GBMSM or self-assed themselves as ineligible. Among study participants, both willingness and eligibility to donate blood was significantly higher under the 3-month deferral policy. The results suggest that a time-based reduction to a 3-month deferral policy is impactful but limited. Future research should measure GBMSM's willingness and eligibility under the individual risk-based assessment (to be implemented in 2022).

In Canada, gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) are a population that are willing to donate blood, if eligible, but have a history of ineligibility and deferrals due to concerns that their blood poses an increased risk of HIV entering the blood supply. Our objective was to examine the proportion of GBMSM who are willing and eligible to donate under the 12-month deferral policy (implemented in 2016) and the 3-month deferral policy (implemented in 2019). Data for this study comes from the #iCruise study, a mixed cohort study designed to examine sexual health outreach experiences through online services and mobile apps among GBMSM in Ontario. A total of 910 participants were recruited between July 2017 and January 2018. Eligibility criteria include identify as male (cisgender or transgender); at least 14 years old; having had sex with a man in the previous year or identifying as sexually/romantically attracted to other men or identifying as gay, bisexual, queer or two-spirit; and living or working in Ontario or having visited Ontario four or more times in the past year. Participants completed a baseline and a follow-up questionnaire. A subset of #iCruise participants (n = 447) further completed this questionnaire. Willingness and eligibility to donate blood were assessed under 12-month and 3-month deferral policies. Of the 447 GBMSM surveyed, 309 (69.1%) reported a general interest in donating blood. 109 (24.4%) GBMSM were willing, 75 (16.7%) were eligible, and 24 (5.4%) were both willing and eligible to donate blood under the 12-month deferral policy. Under the 3-month deferral policy, willingness and eligibility to donate blood increased significantly to 42.3% and 29.3%, respectively. The percent of GBMSM who were both willing and eligible to donate blood also increased significantly to 12.3% under the 3-month deferral policy. The increase in willingness to donate blood varied by age, ethnicity, and geographic residence of participants whereas the increase in eligibility to donate blood varied by education level of participants. Under the 3-month deferral policy, GBMSM who were 50 years or older, identified as bisexual or other, had a lower education level, and who were not ‘out’ to others were more likely to be eligible to donate. GBMSM who reported a general interest in donating blood were more likely to be willing to donate blood under both deferral policies. The most common reason for not being interested in donating blood was the MSM deferral policy itself; many participants interpreted the policy as discriminatory for ‘singling out’ GBMSM or self-assed themselves as ineligible. Among study participants, both willingness and eligibility to donate blood was significantly higher under the 3-month deferral policy. The results suggest that a time-based reduction to a 3-month deferral policy is impactful but limited. Future research should measure GBMSM’s willingness and eligibility under the individual risk-based assessment (to be implemented in 2022).

An individualised approach towards student retention: students at the centre of university deferral and leave-taking policy

Methods. The article uses the following methods and tools of scientific research: generalization, induction and deduction – in order to determine the importance of the use of marketing methods of promotion in the consumer and industrial markets by priority; description and generalization – during the characterization of the architecture of the global brand of lubricants Mobil brand and the description of the logos of the parent brand, master brand, sub-brands and service brand; statistical analysis, index method – during the analysis of the marketing strategic activity of «MasloTrade» LLC in the market of fuels and lubricants of Ukraine, establishing the dynamics of sales volumes of Mobil products by segments of application of lubricants during 2017–2021; method of expert assessments (IFAS analysis) – during the analysis of the internal environment, formulation and assessment of strength and weakness factors; competitive analysis, comparison – during the assessment of the competitive position of lubricants suppliers in the second half of 2021; theory of international marketing, consumer behavior and competition. Results. The importance of the use of marketing methods of promotion in the consumer and industrial markets by priority has been determined. The marketing strategic activity of «MasloTrade» LLC in the market of fuels and lubricants of Ukraine is analyzed. The architecture of the Mobil global brand of lubricants is characterized; the logos of the parent brand, master brand, sub-brands and service brand are described. The prices for fuels and lubricants of different brands in the Ukrainian market in the second half of 2021 were compared, as well as and the properties of lubricant brands. Novelty. Based on the results of the analysis of the internal environment, strength and weakness factors were formulated and evaluated using IFAS-analysis. The competitive position of lubricants suppliers in the second half of 2021 was assessed. Practical value. The analysis allows «MasloTrade» LLC to improve its marketing activities in the international and Ukrainian market of fuels and lubricants, which is manifested in the price, communication components of the Mobil brand promotion, continuation of the debit deferral policy, which helps to support its partners in doing business and promotes its development. Methodological components of the analysis of the internal environment of the company, competitive analysis can be used in the marketing activities of other enterprises.