FDA Updat Blood Donatn Rul Openg Path for More Gay Donors

For s, fears over HIV tatg the blood supply all but banned gay men at Red Cross donatn centers. Now that the l are changg, a Malibu uple joed a blood drive * gay male donors *

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.

COLUMN: TWO GAY MEN WALK TO A RED CROSS BLOOD DONATN CENTER ...

Gay and bisexual men face a time-based ban on givg blood. But fairer practic uld help save over a ln people a year whout the risk of spreadg HIV. * gay male donors *

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. 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.

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.

By Brenda Goodman(CNN) -- US Food and Dg Admistratn on Thursday paved the way for more gay and bisexual men to donate blood by falizg new risk-based remendatns for blood donatn. Gog forward, prospective donors will be asked the same set of qutns regardls of their sex or sexual the FDA began takg a send look at s guidance several years ago, gay and bisexual men had faced a lifetime ban on blood donatn, a move that many said was discrimatory.

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

Egg donatn refers to the e of eggs donated by a woman who acts as a donor to assist gay male upl who are attemptg to bee parents via surrogacy. * gay male donors *

All rights Your Se ArticlBin Adm Speaks Out About Blood Donatn Policy for Queer Men ›FDA Will Relax Blood Donor Rtrictns on Gay, Bisexual Men ›Senators Urge Liftg of Rtrictns on Gay and Bi Male Blood Donors ›FDA to Overhl Blood Donatn Rul Related to Gay Sex ›Gay & Bisexual Men Now Eligible to Donate Blood Unr New FDA Polici ›.

Afterward, they snacked on mi-Oreos and sipped om ty juice all seemed very this was a totally new experience for Jeremy Walker, 55, and his hband, Judd Stark, 59, gay men who me of age at the ighteng dawn of the AIDS era.

FDA SET TO BAN GAY MEN AS SPERM DONORS

* gay male donors *

(Mel Meln / Los Angel Tim) In 2015, the FDA lifted s total ban and replaced wh a one-year abstence requirement for gay men. Five years later, amid the COVID- 19 panmic 2020, the FDA shortened the abstence perd to three jt last month, the agency falized new guil for termg the eligibily of each prospective blood donor — not jt gay men or, say, sex workers — dividually, wh a seri of qutns about their recent sexual history. “I haven’t ed the word ‘anal’ this much sce the ’80’s, ” Stark joked wele change public policy at a time when gay and trans rights are creasgly unr attack, empowered by an ultranservative Supreme Court.

DISCRIMATN AGAST GAY MEN WHO N'T MAKE DONATNS IS ARBRARY, ARCHAIC — AND ADLY

The U.S. Food and Dg Admistratn is nsirg a change to s blood donor policy that would remove rtrictns on gay and bisexual male donors. * gay male donors *

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.

MORE GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WOULD BE ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD AS FDA MOV TO EASE RTRICTNS

Fai, medil groups and sperm banks are askg the agency to make easier for gay and bisexual men to be donors * gay male donors *

“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.

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

Followg a policy change 2015, the procs for donatg bone marrow beme more clive of gay men. Will the blood donatn procs follow su? * gay male donors *

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.

WHY GAY MEN AND OTHER GROUPS ARE BANNED OM DONATG SPERM

”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. “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.

HOW FDA'S FORTHG BLOOD DONOR POLICY CHANGE ULD HELP ADDRS STIGMA ABOUT GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

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. Let them know you don’t support discrimatory practic that ban gay and bisexual men om dog their civic duty. To the dismay of gay-rights activists, the Food and Dg Admistratn is about to implement new l remendg that any man who has engaged homosexual sex the prev five years be barred om servg as an anonymo sperm FDA has rejected lls to scrap the provisn, sistg that gay men llectively pose a higher-than-average risk of rryg the AIDS vis.

GAY MEN CAN NOW DONATE LIFE-SAVG BONE MARROW. WILL BLOOD FOLLOW?

Crics acce the FDA of stigmatizg all gay men rather than adoptg a screeng procs that foc on high-risk sexual behavr by any would-be donor, gay or straight. “Unr the l, a heterosexual man who had unprotected sex wh HIV-posive prostut would be OK as a donor one year later, but a gay man a monogamo, safe-sex relatnship is not OK unls he’s been celibate for five years, ” said Leland Traiman, director of a clic Alameda, Calif., that seeks gay sperm donors.

Although there is disagreement over whether the FDA guile regardg gay men will have the force of law, most doctors and clics are expected to observe .

It is likely to affect some lbian upl who want a child and prefer to e a gay man’s sperm for artificial sematn.

FDA TAK STEPS TO END LIFETIME BAN ON GAY MALE BLOOD DONORS

“There’s a steadily creasg trend of heterosexual transmissn of HIV, and yet the FDA still has this notn that you protect people by puttg gay men out of the pool.

U.K. WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN TO DONATE BLOOD

Prospective donors — gay or straight — would be rejected if they had engaged unprotected sex the prev 12 months wh an HIV-posive person, an illegal dg er, or “an dividual of unknown HIV stat outsi of a monogamo relatnship. ”But an FDA spokwoman ced FDA documents suggtg that officials felt the broar excln was pnt even if affected gay men who practice safe sex.

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

'You n't be too reful'Many doctors and fertily clics already have been rejectg gay sperm donors, cg the pendg FDA l or existg regulatns of the Amerin Society for Reproductive Medice. ”However, some sperm banks, notably California, have weled gay donors.

The director of one of them, Alice Ruby of the Oakland-based Sperm Bank of California, said her staff had veloped procr for intifyg gay men wh an acceptably low risk of men are a major donor source at Traiman’s Rabow Flag sperm bank, and he said that practice would ntue spe the new l.

'Directed' gay sperm donors OKThe FDA l do not prohib gay men om servg as “directed” sperm donors. If a woman wishg to bee pregnant knows a gay man and asks that he provi sperm for artificial sematn, a clic uld provi that service even if the man had engaged sex wh other men wh five years.

Blood Donatn by Gay and Bisexual Men

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BLOOD DONATN BY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

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