A Historic Shift Toward Inclusion: An Epidemiologist on the Future of Blood Donation
A Historic Shift Toward Inclusion: An Epidemiologist on the Future of Blood Donation
In the 1980s a new and unknown disease began rampaging through the United States, leaving devastation in its wake. As doctors and scientists learned more about AIDS, they realized that it could be transmitted via blood transfusions and enacted policies that categorically prohibited members of “high-risk” groups from donating blood. Despite a transformed landscape over the last half century, those policies remained in place with little change — until this year. In "A Historic Shift Toward Inclusion" Dr. Lauren Crowder, epidemiologist and executive scientific officer at the Red Cross, is joined by the Hidden Compass co-founders in a timely discussion of one of the most significant changes to blood donation in U.S. history.