The content of this joint guidance was developed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) with the support of a technical advisory group composed of policy makers, service providers, civil society representatives and preventative health experts from throughout the EU/EEA.

This evidence-based guidance is designed to inform the development, monitoring and evaluation of national strategies and programmes in countries in Europe in order to reduce and prevent infections among people who inject drugs.

In May 2011, the European Commission asked ECDC to estimate the change in total exposure risk to hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) during reproductive cell handling and storage for secondary parties, if the current scheme of testing at each cell donation would change to testing partner donors of reproductive cells once or twice a year.

This report focuses on novel approaches to testing for sexually transmitted infections, human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus that are relevant for the prevention and control of these infections at EU/EEA level.

This report comprises the findings of an internet survey among men who have sex with men (MSM) from 38 European countries, making a total sample of over 180 000 men across Europe.