17th October 2013
By email
Dear Colleague,
Tissues and Cells: Review of Donor Selection Criteria for MSM (Men who have had sex
with men)
We would like to bring to your notice a review recently completed by the independent
scientific Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO). SaBTO
has reviewed the donor selection criteria for men who have had sex with men (MSM) as
donors of tissues and cells. We believe its findings, and its recommendations, will be of
interest to your members.
SaBTO reviewed the evidence base for the selection of living and deceased donors of cells
and banked tissues in the UK, in relation to MSM behaviour. The review included
haematopoietic stem cells, from family and friends, unrelated adult donors and cord blood;
pancreatic islets and hepatocytes; banked tissues (corneas, heart valves, amnion, bone, skin
and tendon) and sperm, eggs and embryos. SaBTO concluded that some changes to the
current criteria were warranted, for unrelated adult donors of haematopoietic stem cells,
cord blood donors, and for donors of banked tissues. Its recommendations are detailed in
the report that has just been published, together with information on the methodology
used, and the evidence considered.
SaBTO’s report, Tissues and Cells: MSM Donor Selection Review, is published at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/donor-selection-criteria-for-men-who-havehad-sex-with-men.
We are very grateful to those who served on the SaBTO sub-group to examine this
important area. The membership of the sub-group is shown overleaf.
We are keen to make SaBTO’s recommendations widely known, so that practice in the UK
will be evidence based, and as consistent as possible between different organisations. We
would be grateful for your help in bringing the review to the attention of your members.
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Yours sincerely,
Professor John Forsythe
Chair, SaBTO
Dr Lorna Williamson
Chair, SaBTO MSM Tissues & Cells Working Group
Working group membership:
Name
Dr Lorna Williamson
(Chair)
Dr George Galea
Dr Eithne MacMahon
Prof Marc Turner
Mr Elwyn Nicol
Dr Phil Yates
Dr Su Brailsford
Dr Allan Pacey
Dr Liezl Gaum
Prof Francisco
Figueiredo (or
nominee)
Dr Mickey Koh
Position
SaBTO member (Medical Director of Blood
Service); Medical and Research Director,
NHSBT
SaBTO member (Blood/Transplant Service
Manager); Head of Tissue Services, SNBTS
SaBTO member
(Microbiologist/Bacteriologist/Virologist);
Consultant Virologist, Guy's and St Thomas'
NHS Foundation Trust
SaBTO member (Haematologist); Medical
Director, SNBTS
SaBTO member (Patient Representative)
Chair of Standing Advisory Committee on
Tissues and Cellular Therapy Products;
Consultant, SNBTS
Role on Working Group
Chair on behalf of SaBTO
Consultant in Epidemiology and Health
Protection;NHSBT and HPA
Senior Lecturer, Academic Unit of
Reproductive & Developmental Medicine,
Sheffield University
Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University
Hospitals NHS Trust
Professor of Ophthalmology & Ocular Surface
Disease, Royal Victoria Infirmary & Newcastle
University
Consultant Haematologist, St George's
Hospital, London
Epidemiology expert
Dr Joan Power
President BATB
Mr John Casey
Mr Carl Burnell
Consultant Transplant Surgeon, The Royal
Infirmary of Edinburgh and St John's Hospital,
Livingston
Medical Officer of Anthony Nolan Trust and
Registrar at The Royal Marsden
Director of Policy and Campaigns, National
AIDS Trust
Chief Executive Officer, Gay Men Fighting Aids
Mr James Taylor
Ms Clare Lewis-Jones
Senior Health Officer, Stonewall
Chief Executive, Infertility Network UK
Ms Laura Witjens
Chief Executive, National Gamete Donation
Trust
SaBTO Secretariat;Safety Programme
Coordinator, NHSBT
SaBTO Secretariat
External Affairs Manager, NHSBT
Head of Policy, Organ and Tissue
Transplantation, DH
Senior Policy Manager - Cell Therapy and
Regenerative Medicine, DH
Policy Manager, Assisted Reproduction &
Embryology Policy, DH
Dr Robert Lown
Dr Yusef Azad
Dr Stephen Thomas
Mr Andrew Broderick
Ms Catherine Davies
Ms Triona Norman
Mr Emyr Harries
Ms Kim Hayes
Tissues expert
Infection expert
Stem cell expert
Layperson
Tissues expert
Representing British Fertility
Society
Representing NHSBT Ocular
Tissue Advisory Group
Representing RCOphth
Ocular Tissue Transplant
Standards Group
Representing British Society
for Blood and Marrow
Transplantation
Representing British
Association of Tissue Banks
Representing British
Transplantation Society
Representing Anthony Nolan
Trust
Representing National AIDS
Trust
Representing GMFA and
LGBT Partnership
Representing Stonewall
Representing Infertility
Network UK
Representing National
Gamete Donation Trust
Secretariat support
Secretariat support
Communications lead
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