{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]],"date-time":"2026-08-03T19:09:28Z","timestamp":1785784168232,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Wiley","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]],"date-time":"2026-07-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784764800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]],"date-time":"2026-07-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784764800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000014","name":"Canadian Blood Services","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000014","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Transfusion"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In Canada, blood operators permanently defer individuals with a history of malaria to prevent transfusion\u2010transmitted malaria. While protective, this policy raises equity concerns, particularly for individuals requiring frequent transfusions, including those living with sickle cell disease. This study examined public awareness of donor screening criteria, perceived barriers to donation, willingness to donate, and views on potential changes to malaria deferral policies.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Study Design and Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A mixed\u2010methods community based study was conducted using a national survey. The survey assessed awareness of donor screening criteria, perceived barriers, and willingness to donate before and after anticipated malaria policy changes. Quantitative results were stratified by malaria endemicity (high, moderate, and low region groups). Results are presented as proportions with 95% confidence intervals. Open text responses were analyzed using categorical thematic coding.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Overall awareness of donor screening criteria was high at 67.5% (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u2009385). Across endemicity groups, most participants reported no concerns regarding blood safety if a malaria test were implemented. A small subset of respondents (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u2009113, 29.3%) expressed concerns, primarily related to testing reliability and blood handling processes. Willingness to donate remained unchanged for under half the respondents, with 38%\u201344% reporting willingness to donate pre\u2010implementation and post\u2010implementation. Notably, 13%\u201321% of those unwilling to donate before reported increased willingness to donate.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Safety concerns were limited, and malaria screening was not perceived as a barrier to donation. These findings support implementation of malaria nucleic acid testing and removal of lifetime deferral policies, highlighting opportunities to expand donor eligibility while maintaining blood safety.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1111\/trf.70336","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]],"date-time":"2026-07-24T04:10:31Z","timestamp":1784866231000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Public awareness and knowledge of blood donation eligibility and deferral criteria: Fostering a culture of donation and advancing equity"],"prefix":"10.1111","author":[{"given":"N. Jo\u00eblle","family":"Kasongo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Diagnostic and Applied Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology University of Alberta  Edmonton Alberta Canada"},{"name":"Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology  Edmonton Alberta Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4009-5705","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jennie","family":"Haw","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences Carleton University  Ottawa Ontario Canada"},{"name":"Donation Policy and Studies, Canadian Blood Services  Ottawa Ontario Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Courtney","family":"Joshua","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sociology and Anthropology Carleton University  Ottawa Ontario Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Biba","family":"Tinga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sickle Cell Disease Association of Canada  Toronto Ontario Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9129-5136","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carmen L.","family":"Charlton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Diagnostic and Applied Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology University of Alberta  Edmonton Alberta Canada"},{"name":"Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology  Edmonton Alberta Canada"},{"name":"Alberta Precision Laboratories  Edmonton Alberta Canada"},{"name":"Women and Children's Health Research Institute (WCHRI), University of Alberta  Edmonton Alberta Canada"},{"name":"Medical Microbiology Canadian Blood Services  Edmonton Alberta Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_9_2_1","unstructured":"Blood safety and availability [Internet].https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/blood-safety-and-availability"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_3_1","unstructured":"Malaria risk for each country [Internet].https:\/\/www.blood.ca\/en\/blood\/am\u2010i\u2010eligible\u2010donate\u2010blood\/abcs\u2010eligibility\/malaria\u2010endemic\u2010regions"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_4_1","unstructured":"Malaria eligibility [Internet].https:\/\/www.blood.ca\/en\/blood\/am-i-eligible-donate-blood\/malaria"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1537-2995.2009.02290.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/trf.17396"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/tme.12517"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/tme.70065"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2450\/2022.0014-22"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2017-018279"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_11_1","unstructured":"Canadian Blood Services.ongoing efforts to build a more inclusive blood system for African Caribbean and Black communities Canadian Blood Services [Internet].https:\/\/www.blood.ca\/en\/about\u2010us\/media\/newsroom\/canadian\u2010blood\u2010services\u2010ongoing\u2010efforts\u2010build\u2010more\u2010inclusive\u2010blood\u2010system"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_12_1","unstructured":"Racialized groups: Canada at a Glance 2022 [Internet].https:\/\/www150.statcan.gc.ca\/n1\/pub\/12-581-x\/2022001\/sec3-eng.htm"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/trf.17778"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_14_1","unstructured":"Historic change opens the door for more blood and plasma donors: human variant of \u2018mad cow\u2019 eligibility rule gone for good. 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Roche receives FDA approval for the first molecular test to screen for malaria in blood donors.https:\/\/diagnostics.roche.com\/us\/en\/news\u2010listing\/2024\/roche\u2010receives\u2010fda\u2010approval\u2010first\u2010molecular\u2010test\u2010screen\u2010malaria.html"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_21_1","unstructured":"Knowledge Synthesis Interim Report [Internet].https:\/\/www.blood.ca\/en\/blood\/am\u2010i\u2010eligible\/men\u2010who\u2010have\u2010sex\u2010men\/knowledge\u2010synthesis\u2010interim\u2010report"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_22_1","unstructured":"(PDF) Purposive Sampling [Internet].https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/391849280_Purposive_Sampling"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_23_1","unstructured":"Alexander\u2010Wilson CI.Statistics How To [Internet].https:\/\/www.statisticshowto.com\/wilson-ci\/"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_24_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eswa.2022.119265"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_25_1","unstructured":"Improving red blood cell inventory to support sickle cell disease [Internet].https:\/\/www.blood.ca\/en\/research\/our\u2010research\u2010stories\/research\u2010education\u2010discovery\/improving\u2010red\u2010blood\u2010cell\u2010inventory"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_26_1","unstructured":"Living with sickle cell disease [Internet].https:\/\/www.blood.ca\/en\/stories\/blood\u2010transfusions\u2010are\u2010lifeline\u2010people\u2010living\u2010sickle\u2010cell\u2010disease"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/vox.70115"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_28_1","unstructured":"Professional Education [Internet]. 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