FDA relax blood donatn guil for gay and bisexual men : NPR

Contents:

• MORE GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WILL NOW BE ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD UNR FALIZED FDA L
• FDA DROPS BLOOD DONATN RTRICTNS SPECIFIC TO GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• NEW BLOOD DONATN RUL TO LOOSEN RTRICTNS ON GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• FDA PROPOS EASG BLOOD DONATN L FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• 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 FDA NSIRS EASG RTRICTNS ON BLOOD DONATNS BY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• LETTG GAY MEN DONATE BLOOD COULD HELP SOLVE A MAJOR HEALTH CRISIS
• GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN ARE NOW ALLOWED TO DONATE BLOOD IN ENGLAND, STLAND AND WAL
• BLOOD DONATN BY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE
• DISCRIMATN STILL KEEPS MANY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN FROM DONATG BLOOD

MORE GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WILL NOW BE ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD UNR FALIZED FDA L

S., the Red Cross, along wh One Blood, Valant and partner LGBTQ+ muny health centers, are participatg a pilot study fund by the FDA select ci that uld potentially lead to chang for blood donor eligibily creria for gay and bisexual men.

Is movg to ease rtrictns on blood donatns om gay and bisexual men and other groups that tradnally face higher risks of HIV. The Food and Dg Admistratn (FDA) said Thursday had officially elimated rtrictns that had prevly prohibed many blood donatns by gay and bisexual men — a longstandg policy that crics say is discrimatory. Wh the updated guil, most gay and bisexual men who are a monogamo relatnship wh a man will no longer have to rea om sex orr to donate blood.

At first, gay and bisexual men were pletely prohibed om donatg blood.

FDA DROPS BLOOD DONATN RTRICTNS SPECIFIC TO GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

Print and CEO of GLAAD Sarah Kate Ellis echoed that approval a statement, sayg "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, " However, Ellis said while the new guidance is a step the right directn, there is still a barrier for LGBTQ+ people who are on PrEP, an FDA-approved dg proven to prevent the transmissn of HIV, who may want to donate blood.

NEW BLOOD DONATN RUL TO LOOSEN RTRICTNS ON GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

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.

""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. Origally, gay and bisexual men were pletely prohibed om donatg blood. "We will ntue to work to make sure that we have polici that allow everyone who wants to donate blood to be able to donate blood wh what the science allows to make sure that the blood supply remas safe." In craftg the new guidance, the FDA has been lookg to the rults of a study of about 1,600 gay and bisexual men to velop screeng qutns that n intify potential donors who are most likely to be fected wh HIV.

So monogamo gay men uld start donatg blood aga sometime 2023. Said the new guil would be more clive and were based on a review of data om other Fremson/The New York TimThe Food and Dg Admistratn plans to revise a longstandg policy that exclud most gay and bisexual men om blood donatn, stead adoptg an approach that will screen donors pendg on their recent sexual activy, agency officials said on move follows years of cricism om L.

FDA PROPOS EASG BLOOD DONATN L FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

Feral officials have long jtified the excln of gay and bisexual men as a way to keep H. In 2015, the agency allowed gay and bisexual men to donate if they had not had sexual ntact wh other men for the prev perd was rced to three months after severe blood shortag durg the Covid-19 F. Said the agency’s proposal was an important step forward that would enable him — a gay married man — and many others to perform an important public service.

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

Said the new approach would be genr-clive — the screeng would also apply to women who have sex wh gay and bisexual men — and would foc on dividual risk, not blanket prohibns on groups. A., shapg the proposal, reviewed data om a recent study of about 1, 600 gay and bisexual men eight metropolan areas.

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

”But, as a gay man, he said that not havg the abily to donate blood had ma him feel “shunned by the ernment, ” and he was disappoted that the change took so long.

More about Ey AnthA versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 21 of the New York edn wh the headle: New Blood Donatn Rul to Loosen Rtrictns on Gay and Bisexual Men. The Food and Dg Admistratn on Friday proposed easg blood donatn guil for gay and bisexual current l, the FDA allows donatns om gay and bisexual men if they haven't had sex wh another man for three a draft proposal posted to the agency's webse, the FDA said the new l would allow anyone to donate blood — regardls of genr or sexual orientatn — as long as they haven't engaged certa sexual behavrs the last three months.

THE FDA NSIRS EASG RTRICTNS ON BLOOD DONATNS BY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

That would mean most gay and bisexual men who are a monogamo relatnship wh another man will no longer need to absta om sex to donate blood. ”The agency's rtrictns on blood donatns om gay and bisexual men stem om the AIDS crisis, which began the early 1980s, when ltle was known about the vis. Advocy groups and medil anizatns, cludg the Amerin Red Cross, have urged the FDA to lift rtrictns on blood donatns for gay and bisexual men, sayg the practice is discrimatory and has ntributed to shortag the blood supply the Uned Stat.

Gay men who were once unable to donate blood were able to participate blood driv for the very first time. SALT LAKE CITY — The Food and Dg Admistratn is easg rtrictns on blood donatns next week, particular for gay men hop that Ameri's blood supply will be Blood Servic will be the first Utah and one of the first donor centers the entire untry to implement the new guil. "Now that qutn is pletely gone and ’s been replaced wh three, new, clive qutns that we ask all donors, irrpective of their genr or sexual orientatn, ” he goal of the change rtrictns is to lower barriers hop that more gay men will now choose to donate bee the need for blood is nstant.

Siarly, is worth notg and appldg the fact that May the Food and Dg Admistratn fally eased s-old rtrictns that prevented gay and bisexual men om donatg blood whout first abstag om sexual activy for three months.

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

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. The FDA nsirs easg rtrictns on blood donatns by gay and bisexual men The Food and Dg Admistratn is likely to propose easg rtrictns on blood donatns by gay and bisexual men.

GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN ARE NOW ALLOWED TO DONATE BLOOD IN ENGLAND, STLAND AND WAL

The FDA nsirs easg rtrictns on blood donatns by gay and bisexual men. The Food and Dg Admistratn is likely to propose easg rtrictns on blood donatns by gay and bisexual men. Origally, gay and bisexual men were pletely prohibed om donatg blood out of fears they would ntamate the blood supply wh HIV.

In 2015, the FDA lifted the total ban on blood donatns by gay and bisexual men and stead said they uld donate as long as they hadn't had sexual ntact wh other men for at least a year. This qutnnaire would be based on the rults of a study of about 1, 600 gay and bisexual men that was signed to velop a set of screeng qutns that would intify potential donors who are most likely to be fected wh HIV.

BLOOD DONATN BY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

Here's Tony Morrison om the group GLAAD, which has long cricized the current MORRISON: It's a discrimatory policy that assum that HIV is a gay disease, and is very much not. 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. ”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.

GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE

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.

DISCRIMATN STILL KEEPS MANY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN FROM DONATG 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.