Dpe Blood Suppli Crilly Low, Some Gay Men Still Cannot Donate Plasma : NPR

Contents:

• DPE BLOOD SUPPLI CRILLY LOW, SOME GAY MEN STILL CANNOT DONATE PLASMA
• LETTG GAY MEN DONATE BLOOD COULD HELP SOLVE A MAJOR HEALTH CRISIS
• GAY MEN STILL UNABLE TO DONATE BLOOD AND PLASMA SPE NEW FDA GUIL. HERE'S WHY.
• BANNED FOR LIFE: WHY GAY MEN STILL N'T DONATE BLOOD

DPE BLOOD SUPPLI CRILLY LOW, SOME GAY MEN STILL CANNOT DONATE PLASMA

Dpe Blood Suppli Crilly Low, Some Gay Men Still Cannot Donate Plasma Men who've had COVID-19 and have sex wh other men mt wa three months before donatg potentially life-savg plasma. Dpe Blood Suppli Crilly Low, Some Gay Men Still Cannot Donate Plasma.

Many argue that a feral policy preventg many gay men om donatg blood is driven by stigma rather than science. And yet simply bee I am gay, I n't do anythg wh . But that's not possible for gay men.

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

The lifetime ban was shortened to a year of celibacy 2015 and then rced to three months last April, which is still a problem acrdg to California State Senator Stt WIENER: The FDA's blood donatn ban is 100% driven by fear, ignorance and outdated stereotyp about gay and bisexual men. Anybody who is not monogamo, gay or straight, would have to wa.

MCCLURG: He says science should drive health policy, not homophobia. 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.

GAY MEN STILL UNABLE TO DONATE BLOOD AND PLASMA SPE NEW FDA GUIL. HERE'S WHY.

”In 2015, theFDA loosened s rtrictn, permtg gay and bisexual men to donate blood as long as they hadn’t had sex wh another man the past year. For example, if you’re a gay man who wears ndoms durg sex, you lim your risk of ntractg HIV. Same go for gay men who are married or a long-term monogamo relatnship.

Conducted tanm wh the natn’s largt blood centers—the Amerin Red Cross, Valant, and OneBlood—the rearch effort will survey 2, 000 gay and bisexual men across the untry between the ag of 18 and 30 who have had sex wh at least one man the past three months. ”The policy change uld have a signifint posive effect on the mental health of gay and bisexual men, too. It also puts gay and bisexual men at higher risk for acquirg HIV over time.

BANNED FOR LIFE: WHY GAY MEN STILL N'T DONATE BLOOD

“Social and stctural factors that e gay men to feel othered e them to engage risky sexual behavr, ” Halkis says.

So a ban like this isn’t jt harmful to the Amerin public; “’s credibly harmful to the gay muny, both emotnally and physilly.