Ban on gay men givg blood to be lifted | Health policy | The Guardian

Contents:

• BAN ON GAY MEN GIVG BLOOD TO BE LIFTED
• FDA DROPS BLOOD DONATN RTRICTNS SPECIFIC TO GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• BAN ON GAY BLOOD DONORS MAY END
• THE “GAY BLOOD BAN” ISN’T OVER
• GAY MEN NOW ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD UTAH AFTER S-LONG BAN
• UTAH’S ARUP BLOOD SERVIC TO EASE RTRICTNS ON GAY, BISEXUAL MALE DONORS
• THE BIGOTRY OF GAY-BLOOD-DONATN BANS
• BIN ADMISTRATN SPEAKS OUT ON FERAL BLOOD DONATN POLICY IMPACTG GAY MEN AMID NATNAL BLOOD SHORTAGE
• LETTG GAY MEN DONATE BLOOD COULD HELP SOLVE A MAJOR HEALTH CRISIS
• CANADA TO LIFT BLOOD DONATN BAN ON SEXUALLY ACTIVE GAY, BISEXUAL MEN
• FDA LIFTS DISCRIMATORY BLOOD DONATN BAN FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

BAN ON GAY MEN GIVG BLOOD TO BE LIFTED

Gay men will be able to give blood when ernment rtrictns are lifted later this year, the Department of Health has said.

A lifetime ban on blood donatn by men who have had sex wh another man was put place the UK the 1980s as a rponse to the spread of Aids and followg a review by the Advisory Commtee on the Safety of Blood, Tissu and Organs (Sabto), men who have not had homosexual sex wh the past year will be able to donate if they meet certa other remendatn has been accepted by the health misters England, Stland and Wal, and the ban will be lifted on 7 who have had anal or oral sex wh another man the past 12 months, wh or whout a ndom, will still not be eligible to donate blood, the DoH 's advisory panel, prisg leadg experts and patient groups, rried out s review based on the latt available evince and found uld no longer support the permanent excln of men who have had sex wh nsired the risk of fectn beg transmted blood, attus of potential donors plyg wh the selectn creria and improvements ttg of donated change means the creria for men who have had sex wh men will be le wh other groups who are ferred om givg blood for 12 months due to fectn risks associated wh sexual clu women who have slept wh a man who has had sex wh another man, people who have slept wh prostut and those who have had sex wh anyone who has jected themselv wh dgs. Current guil say people n never give blood if they have had syphilis, HTLV (Human T-lymphotropic vis) or hepatis B or C, and a lifetime ban is also place for people who have ever worked as a prostute or jected themselv wh announcement was weled by the human rights mpaigner Peter Tatchell, but he said fell short of liftg the ban on gay men who always ed said: "Although the new policy is a big improvement on the existg discrimatory l, a 12-month ban is still excsive and unjtified. "The activist, who lnched the first mpaign agast the lifetime ban on gay and bisexual blood donors 1991, add: "Most gay and bisexual men do not have HIV and will never have HIV.

The Food and Dg Admistratn has dropped all rtrictns specific to gay and bisexual men donatg blood, a move long anticipated by public health experts and gay rights new guidance, first proposed January and falized Thursday, will not rtrict donatns based on someone's sexual orientatn or genr inty, and stead move towards an "dividual risk-based" approach to rce the risk of accintal HIV fectn through the blood donatn FDA origally banned donatns om gay and bisexual men the midst of the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis. For example, the HIV epimic has spread far beyond gay and bisexual men, wh women acuntg for roughly 1 5 new HIV diagnos the Uned Stat, acrdg to the most recent CDC data available. Peter Ch-Hong, an fect disease specialist at the Universy of California, San 2015, the FDA relaxed an outright ban on donatns om gay and bisexual men, but the 2015 guidance asked men to absta om sex for at least one year before Thursday's falized guidance, every prospective donor will be asked about their sexual history wh the past three months -- regardls of their sexual orientatn.

FDA DROPS BLOOD DONATN RTRICTNS SPECIFIC TO GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

""The FDA's cisn to follow science and issue new remendatns for all Amerins, regardls of sexual orientatn, who selflsly donate blood to help save liv, signals the begng of the end of a dark and discrimatory past rooted fear and homophobia, " Sarah Kate Ellis, the print and CEO of GLAAD, said a statement, however, took issue wh one part of the updated remendatn, which urg ferral for anyone takg HIV meditns -- cludg people who are HIV negative who are takg meditns lled PrEP to prevent ferral perd uld ntue to erect barriers to LGBTQ blood donors, she said. 14, 2000 -- A feral panel is nsirg overturng a ban on blood bank donatns by gay men — a le implemented 15 years ago out of fear of 1985 ban clar that any man who has had sex wh another man even once sce 1977 nnot give blood. Unr the current le, a heterosexual woman who has had sex wh numero AIDS-fected partners n give blood after wag a year, but a gay man who’s been celibate sce 1978 is banned.

Gay activists say that’s discrimatn. “The existg policy is archaic and discrimatory bee falsely assum that all gay men are HIV-posive regardls of their sexual behavr. At the same time, allows heterosexuals to donate blood even if they have participated risky sexual or dg-e behavr, ” says Mart Algaze, spokman for Gay Men’s Health of the blood supply is the first prry, agre Doni Gewirtzman of the Lambda Legal Defense Fund, a legal-aid anizatn for gay people and people wh AIDS.

BAN ON GAY BLOOD DONORS MAY END

He suggts the current rtrictns may be too tight on gays and too loose on promiscuo heterosexuals.

It’s about specific sexual behavr, not about sexual orientatn, ” says Tom Duane, a Democratic New York state senator who is both openly gay and bank officials say AIDS-tectn technology has vastly improved sce the 1980s. She don’t want the ban on donatns om gay men lifted.

THE “GAY BLOOD BAN” ISN’T OVER

It’s not jt gay men, but ’s also people who have ed IV dgs, and prostut” who are unr lifelong bans, she blood banks say they need the extra blood.

“Unls there is an immediate and dramatic donatn crease, the rced shipments will ntue or grow worse, ” he said a WaThe FDA is most likely to shift to a policy unr which a gay man mt have abstaed om homosexual sex for five years before donatg blood, Ksler agency is beg nservative bee ’s worried about blood bankg errors — uns of fected blood that slip through the cracks bee of human error at blood banks. “Most gay men want to do their duty and be able to give blood, ” says year, the Blood Centers of the Pacific San Francis llected 100, 000 uns of blood.

The “Gay Blood Ban” Isn’t Over.

GAY MEN NOW ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD UTAH AFTER S-LONG BAN

The updated remendatns have been herald the news and by advot alike as an end to the so-lled “gay blood ban.

Now, only HIV-negative gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex wh men who do not e PrEP and who are abstent om anal sex for at least three months, or are a sexually monogamo relatnship (or believe themselv to be), are able to donate blood. —but PrEP is overwhelmgly ed by men, most of whom are gay or bisexual. The FDA’s new l not only muddle the msage of this val effort, but they mean the policy is not an end to the “gay blood ban” at all, bee so many such men are still exclud—men who, aga, are takg a proactive step to protect their health.

It’s unclear exactly how many people take PrEP, but Centers for Disease Control and Preventn data suggts at least 35 percent of gay and bisexual men nsired at “high risk” of HIV do—a cisn health thori endorse. The agency now ns the risk of stg a shadow on PrEP e and ntug to stigmatize gay and bisexual men—a damagg mistake that this long-awaed change policy was meant to rrect.

UTAH’S ARUP BLOOD SERVIC TO EASE RTRICTNS ON GAY, BISEXUAL MALE DONORS

Close this ntentKSTUKSTUJuly 19, 2023 at 8:17 AMGay men who were once unable to donate blood were able to participate blood driv for the very first time. “As today’s report mak clear, that perd many endured the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic bullyg and harassment, all while bravely servg this untry, ” Sunak told MP.

THE BIGOTRY OF GAY-BLOOD-DONATN BANS

Promisg the ernment would implement the “vast majory” of Etherton’s remendatns, Wallace said he would fully update the Commons a formal bate about the issue after the about pensatn, Wallace said he hoped to fd “an elegant solutn that match the need and the requirements of those dividuals”, promisg to set this out after Kelly Holm, who served the army and me out as gay last year, was among mpaigners who weled the apology. Starmer said one of his nstuents, Ken Wright, a former RAF service member who was “forced to leave the job he loved simply bee he was gay”, was the public gallery to hear the apology.

BIN ADMISTRATN SPEAKS OUT ON FERAL BLOOD DONATN POLICY IMPACTG GAY MEN AMID NATNAL BLOOD SHORTAGE

Geni Pictur (“Mrs Lowry & Son, ” “Good Luck To You, Leo Gran”) has optned Emmett Monterey’s acclaimed memoir “Go the Way Your Blood Beats” – about growg up gay and disabled 1980s London – for TV adaptatn. At his mastream school, teachers refe to schle his class on the ground floor, and at his llege for disabled stunts, he’s told he will be expelled if the mors are te, if he’s gay.

LETTG GAY MEN DONATE BLOOD COULD HELP SOLVE A MAJOR HEALTH CRISIS

EHealth’s grant was restated May, but do not provi fundg for any rearch Cha or wh Gay Stolberg is a Washgton Corrponnt verg health policy. More about Sheryl Gay StolbergAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT.

Due to a long-standg FDA policy, LGBT people n’t Miami Beach, Florida, wa le to donate blood the aftermath of the Orlando shootg (Lynne Sladky / AP)On Sunday, Omar Mateen killed 49 people and wound dozens more a massacre at Pulse, a gay night club  Orlando, Florida. * Even after the most adly act agast gays, lbians, bisexual, and transgenr people  Amerin history, the built- homophobia of Amerin public health keeps the untry om mountg the most effective possible origal blood-donatn l for men who have sex wh men, or MSM––a signatn signed to enpsulate sexual activy stead of orientatn––were actually ls rtrictive than current l. Orlando blood-donatn clics uld asss the actual risk posed by gay donors based on the stat, inty, and number of partners they have.

CANADA TO LIFT BLOOD DONATN BAN ON SEXUALLY ACTIVE GAY, BISEXUAL MEN

To place the same rtrictns on monogamo gay upl as those placed on straight men who have unprotected sex wh multiple partners, or traveno dg ers, is simply excable not science, what’s the explanatn for the ban? Ocm’s razor would suggt homophobia, a factor  HIV-related medice and policy sce s foundatns an unmistakably homophobic panic. It was once not unmon for elected policians and medil profsnals to openly profs that HIV was punishment for homosexualy, a view that has not entirely erod today.

* This article origally stated that the ban on gay blood donatns is placed by the Feral Dg Admistratn, rather than the U. For the first time, the Bin admistratn is mentg on the Food and Dg Admistratn's long-time blood donatn guil, which are impactg the LGBTQ+ muny by preventg gay and bisexual men om beg eligible blood statement, ma by a Whe Hoe official exclively to ABC News, acknowledg the paful origs of the policy and on the heels of the Amerin Red Cross clarg their first-ever natnal blood crisis last week, as suppli at hospals and blood banks bee dangeroly low. Policy holds that sexually active gay or bisexual men mt absta om sex for at least three months before they're allowed to donate blood.

The le appli to gay and bisexual men who are monogamo and those who tt HIV negative and are practicg safe sex. It also clus gay and bisexual COVID-19 survivors who wish to donate nvalcent plasma, rich wh antibodi, for ’s PicksThe rtrictn on blood donatns me out of the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s, when limed ttg technology and pacy existed to screen blood for HIV.

FDA LIFTS DISCRIMATORY BLOOD DONATN BAN FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

In 1983, the FDA implemented a lifetime ban on blood donatns om all men who had sex wh men after FDA removed the lifetime ban and enacted a 12-month ferral perd 2015, meang gay or bisexual men had to absta om havg sex wh other men for at least 12 months before donatg blood. But there is one easily implementable solutn to the natnal blood-supply shortage that’s been available for years and uld be a lifele: allowg gay and bisexual men to donate eely.

S., gay and bisexual men (often referred to as MSM, or “men who have sex wh men”) are not allowed to give blood if they’ve had sex wh another man the past three months. “It is my opn that we ntue to have a real problem wh laws and regulatns based on fear rather than science, ” she ntuatn of a MSM-specific barrier to givg is not only limg the blood supply, ’s unnecsary and “rooted homophobia, ” explas Perry N.