Menstrual blood as a research biospecimen: a scoping review protocol

Although systemic blood testing is usually used for research, it is invasive and may limit accessibility and participant compliance. Menstrual blood is usually discarded but contains whole blood and diverse biomarkers with relevance to reproductive and systemic health. Evidence shows an overlap between menstrual and systemic blood, with additional unique biomarkers that may enhance research. Despite this, menstrual blood remains under-represented in research and no scoping or systematic reviews are currently available on this topic.

This review will include peer-reviewed studies involving menstruating individuals from whom menstrual blood was collected for research. Eligible studies must examine menstrual blood collection methods, analytical approaches, feasibility or acceptability, biomarker identification and outcomes across any research setting.The search will be conducted in MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid) and Web of Science Core Collections, without date or language restrictions. Screening of titles, abstracts and full texts will be performed in Covidence alongside the inclusion criteria. Data will be extracted using a standardised form capturing information on research purposes, the population, collection methods, sample handling, key outcomes and challenges. Extracted evidence will be summarised following JBI methodology and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) reporting standards.

Ethics approval was not required. The findings will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed journal and conference presentations.

This scoping review protocol has been registered with OSF (https://osf.io/prq3g/).