High Risk Sexual Behaviour

Acceptability at Recruitment

QUALIFIED

Acceptability at CT / Work-Up

QUALIFIED

Individual at Risk

Recipient

Explanation of Condition

High-risk sexual behaviour is that which puts the donor at risk of infectious diseases which may then be transmitted to the recipient/patient. This risk occurs because the donor themselves currently participate in high-risk behaviour, or currently have sex with someone from a high-risk background. Importantly we rely on donors to assess their own individual risk.

The aim is to reduce the risk of 'window period' transmissions, where a donor is infected with (for example) HIV, but the infection is too recent to be picked up by our screening tests and the infection is passed to the patient. For this reason, donors who have participated in high risk sexual behaviour say over one year ago, but do not do so currently, should be allowed to donate.

Guidance

There is no strict definition of what high-risk behaviour/background is, but it would include those who have unprotected vaginal or anal sex with multiple partners, those who pay (or are paid) for sex, those from an geographical area with a very high prevalence of HIV and those with other sexually transmitted diseases.

Unprotected sex within a monogamous relationship is not seen as high-risk behaviour, regardless of whether it is a same-sex relationship.

Version

Version 1, Edition 1

Date of Last Update

15th June 2012