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
• LETTG GAY MEN DONATE BLOOD COULD HELP SOLVE A MAJOR HEALTH CRISIS
• BLOOD DONATN BY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• GAY MEN NOW ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD UTAH AFTER S-LONG BAN
• CANADA LIFTS RTRICTNS ON GAY MEN DONATG BLOOD
• NEW ATRALIAN BLOOD DONATN L FOR GAY MEN DON’T GO FAR ENOUGH, ADVOT SAY
• GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE
• UTAH’S ARUP BLOOD SERVIC TO EASE RTRICTNS ON GAY, BISEXUAL MALE DONORS
• FDA MOV TO EASE L FOR BLOOD DONATNS OM GAY MEN
• GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN ARE NOW ALLOWED TO DONATE BLOOD IN ENGLAND, STLAND AND WAL
• ALLOW GAY MEN TO DONATE BLOOD AND SAVE A LIFE
• BANNED FOR LIFE: WHY GAY MEN STILL N'T DONATE BLOOD

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

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.

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.

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.

FDA DROPS BLOOD DONATN RTRICTNS SPECIFIC TO GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

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.

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

""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. " 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.

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.

BLOOD DONATN BY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

“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 NOW ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD UTAH AFTER S-LONG BAN

”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. 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.

CANADA LIFTS RTRICTNS ON GAY MEN 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. The first step is to sign GLAAD’s petn at You then n—and should—te those around you, “sce many people, cludg gay and bi men, don’t know that this ban exists, ” adds Lasky.

NEW ATRALIAN BLOOD DONATN L FOR GAY MEN DON’T GO FAR ENOUGH, ADVOT SAY

Let them know you don’t support discrimatory practic that ban gay and bisexual men om dog their civic duty. Current Food and Dg Admistratn (FDA) policy allows for gay and bisexual men to donate blood 3 months after their most recent sexual ntact wh another man if they meet all other eligibily creria.

27, 2023, FDA issued a draft guidance that propos to elimate the tomatic 3-month ferral of gay and bisexual men based on the agency analysis of the current data on HIV transmissn. 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.

OTTAWA (AP) — Health Canada on Thursday lifted rtrictns on gay men donatg blood, a move Prime Mister Jt T said was “good news for all Canadians” but had taken too long. Health Canada approved the requt by Canadian Blood Servic to end the policy that rtricts homosexuals om donatg blood for three months after engagg gay sex. The policy began 1992 as an outright ban on gay men donatg blood followg a tated blood sndal.

GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE

Several chang were later ma to the blood donatn regime until ferral perds for donatns by gay men were lowered om a lifetime ban to three months 2019. New Atralian blood donatn l for gay men don’t go far enough, advot sayNew l that change the barriers facg gay men who want to donate blood Atralia don’t go far enough, advot blood donatn l for gay men have e to effect on Sunday allowg them to give blood if they have been celibate for three measure has dramatilly slashed that wag perd om 12 months – which effectively banned gay men om donatg – but advot say still discrimat agast many who would wish to year the Atralian Red Cross’s Lifeblood service announced the l would be changed om January 31, 2021, after a review of s sexual activy ferral new le, which also apply to transgenr people who have had sex wh a man, appli to oral and anal sex – wh or whout a Theraptic Goods Admistratn approved Lifeblood’s plan to cut the wag perd, and to also allow homosexual men to donate plasma and platelets.

”Gay men had prevly been banned om donatg durg the height of the AIDS epimic the 1980s, wh those l lgerg for new change me followg a ph for blood donors durg the COVID-19 panmic, wh MPs Alex Greenwich and Dr Time Read volly supportg the move their rpective stat of NSW and Victoria. “The current ernments of both the Uned Stat and the Uned Kgdom are mted to replacg their gay blood bans wh dividual risk asssment, and ‘s time for Atralia to do the same.

”The study also showed that among gay men who would donate blood, the prevalence of HIV is lower than the general populatn, Mr Croome said. “This announcement by the FDA rc the wag perd of time to 3 months and shrks s untenable, virtual ‘ban’ on blood donatns for gay and bi+ men. Contug to enforce the facto prohibn on blood donatn by sexually active gay and bisexual men do not reflect the bt science available.

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

Dpe this urgent need for donatns, people who have sex wh gay or bisexual men are still facg rtrictns on their abily to give Food and Dg Admistratn bars people who have had sex wh gay or bisexual men om donatg blood for three months followg the most recent sexual ntact bee of fears of HIV the blood agency changed the ferral perd om 12 months to three months November 2020 as blood donatns fell and hospals faced cril shortag durg the first year of the COVID-19 advot, cludg the Human Rights Campaign, say the FDA is movg too slowly on removg the rtrictn, sayg that 's an outright ban on the abily of people, particularly gay and bisexual men, to donate blood. Rtrictns on blood donatns om gay and bisexual men, who are nsired to be at high risk for HIV or AIDS transmissn, date back to the and bisexual men unrgo dividual risk asssments stead of time-based bans untri around the world, recently cludg Greece and France, acrdg to ternatnal reports.

FDA MOV TO EASE L FOR BLOOD DONATNS OM GAY MEN

A person is tted durg the first gay men's blood drive, held at the Memorial Blood Center St. The event was held to prott feral l that effectively ban gay men om donatg Bispg/Star Tribune via Getty Imag, FILEValant told ABC News a new statement that rearchers are halfway toward s goal of enrollg 2, 000 participants across eight ci: Washgton D.

They enurage gay and bisexual men who are 18 to 39 years old to participate the FDA, a statement to ABC News, said that this study uld generate data that will help the agency terme if a donor's dividual risk asssment and qutnnaire would be jt as effective rcg the risk of HIV the blood supply as the time-based ferrals the FDA already has FDA also said do not have a specific timele for when the studi will be pleted but that is "mted to gatherg the scientific data that n support alternative donor ferral polici that mata a high level of blood safety. Food and Dg Admistratn announced on May 11, 2023, that has officially dropped rtrictns that prohib gay and bisexual men om donatg blood unr many circumstanc on May 11, 2023.

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

The ban was ially put place the early days of the AIDS epimic, but for years medil profsnals and gay rights advot have argued that the ban was no longer medilly jtifiable and that unnecsarily discrimated agast men who have sex wh men.

Rearchers and gay rights advot have long argued that time-based ferrals lack nuance and fail to realistilly nsir the differenc risk associated wh the type of sex, type of relatnship, number of partners and equency of sexual enunters. Is movg to further ease rtrictns on blood donatns om gay and bisexual men and other groups that typilly face higher risks of HIV.

ALLOW GAY MEN TO DONATE BLOOD AND SAVE A LIFE

If falized, many gay and bisexual men monogamo relatnships would be able to donate blood for the first time s. Gay rights groups have long opposed blanket rtrictns on who n give blood, sayg they discrimate agast the LGBTQ muny.

"Current and former blood donatn polici ma unfound assumptns about gay and bisexual men and really entangled dividuals' inty wh their likelihood of havg HIV, " said Sarah Warbelow of the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocy group.

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

And many other untri started blockg blood donatns om gay and bisexual men durg the early 1980's AIDS epimic, aimg to prevent the spread of HIV through the blood supply.