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Medical, Societal, and Ethical Considerations for Directed Blood Donation in 2025

Jacobs, Jeremy W.; Booth, Garrett S.; Lewis-Newby, Mithya; Saifee, Nabiha H.; Ferguson, Eamonn; Cohn, Claudia S.; Delaney, Meghan; Morley, Sarah; Thomas, Stephen; Thorpe, Rachel; Raza, Sheharyar; Weaver, Meaghann S.; Woo, Jennifer S.; Sharma, Deva; So-Osman, Cynthia; Yurtsever, Nalan; Tormey, Christopher A.; Waters, Allison; Goldman, Mindy; Yan, Matthew T.S.; Fasano, Ross M.; Stephens, Laura D.; Allen, Elizabeth S.; Erikstrup, Christian; Infanti, Laura; Schlafer, Timothy D.; Warner, Matthew A.; Winters, Jeffrey L.; Tobian, Aaron A.R.; Bloch, Evan M.

Authors

Jeremy W. Jacobs

Garrett S. Booth

Mithya Lewis-Newby

Nabiha H. Saifee

Claudia S. Cohn

Meghan Delaney

Sarah Morley

Stephen Thomas

Rachel Thorpe

Sheharyar Raza

Meaghann S. Weaver

Jennifer S. Woo

Deva Sharma

Cynthia So-Osman

Nalan Yurtsever

Christopher A. Tormey

Allison Waters

Mindy Goldman

Matthew T.S. Yan

Ross M. Fasano

Laura D. Stephens

Elizabeth S. Allen

Christian Erikstrup

Laura Infanti

Timothy D. Schlafer

Matthew A. Warner

Jeffrey L. Winters

Aaron A.R. Tobian

Evan M. Bloch



Abstract

In the United States and other high-income countries, blood donation primarily relies on anonymous, voluntary donors. However, directed blood donation—where people donate for a specific recipient—has resurged, particularly due to misinformation surrounding COVID-19 vaccination. Requests for “nonvaccinated” blood, driven by misconceptions about vaccine safety, have led to legislative attempts to mandate compliance. Historically, directed donation was used to mitigate the risk for transfusion-related infections before modern screening techniques rendered it largely unnecessary. Today, it presents important patient safety risks, including increased infectious disease transmission, immunologic complications, and logistic burdens. Directed donations also introduce inefficiencies, diverting resources from the community blood supply and exacerbating shortages. Moreover, directed donation for nonmedical indications lacks scientific justification. Blood safety is ensured through rigorous donor screening, pathogen testing, and processing measures. There is no evidence that blood from vaccinated donors poses risk. Requests for nonvaccinated blood, as well as other directed donation preferences based on personal beliefs, introduce biases that are not grounded in medical necessity. Accommodating such requests undermines public trust in blood safety protocols and legitimizes unfounded fears. Ethical concerns arise as non–medically justified requests reinforce discriminatory practices, such as selecting donors based on race or gender. Allowing such preferences risks politicizing blood donation, spreading misinformation, and straining health care systems. Although autonomy is a core ethical principle in medicine, it does not justify non–evidence-based interventions. Given the potential harm and societal impact, directed blood donations should be limited to rare, medically necessary cases. Ongoing legislative efforts to mandate these requests require unified opposition from the medical and scientific community to uphold ethical, evidence-based, blood allocation practices.

Citation

Jacobs, J. W., Booth, G. S., Lewis-Newby, M., Saifee, N. H., Ferguson, E., Cohn, C. S., Delaney, M., Morley, S., Thomas, S., Thorpe, R., Raza, S., Weaver, M. S., Woo, J. S., Sharma, D., So-Osman, C., Yurtsever, N., Tormey, C. A., Waters, A., Goldman, M., Yan, M. T., …Bloch, E. M. (in press). Medical, Societal, and Ethical Considerations for Directed Blood Donation in 2025. Annals of Internal Medicine, https://doi.org/10.7326/annals-25-00815

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 25, 2025
Online Publication Date May 13, 2025
Deposit Date May 13, 2025
Publicly Available Date Nov 14, 2025
Journal Annals of Internal Medicine
Print ISSN 0003-4819
Electronic ISSN 1539-3704
Publisher American College of Physicians
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
DOI https://doi.org/10.7326/annals-25-00815
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/48984953
Publisher URL https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/ANNALS-25-00815