FDA to make easier for gay and bisexual men to donate blood : Shots - Health News : NPR

Contents:

• MORE GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WILL NOW BE ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD UNR FALIZED FDA L
• LETTG GAY MEN DONATE BLOOD COULD HELP SOLVE A MAJOR HEALTH CRISIS
• BLOOD DONATN BY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• FDA DROPS BLOOD DONATN RTRICTNS SPECIFIC TO GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• BIN ADMISTRATN SPEAKS OUT ON FERAL BLOOD DONATN POLICY IMPACTG GAY MEN AMID NATNAL BLOOD SHORTAGE
• GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE
• FDA PROPOS EASG BLOOD DONATN L FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• HOW FDA'S FORTHG BLOOD DONOR POLICY CHANGE ULD HELP ADDRS STIGMA ABOUT GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• GAY, BISEXUAL MEN UTAH N GIVE BLOOD UNR PANY’S LOOSENED RTRICTNS
• F.D.A. CONSIRG NEW APPROACH TO BLOOD DONATN BY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• THE FDA NSIRS EASG RTRICTNS ON BLOOD DONATNS BY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• NEW BLOOD DONATN RUL TO LOOSEN RTRICTNS ON GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• FDA PROPOS ALLOWG GAY AND BISEXUAL MONOGAMO MEN TO DONATE BLOOD
• GAY MEN NOW ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD UTAH AFTER S-LONG BAN
• WHAT ARE THE BLOOD DONATN L GLOBALLY FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN?

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

" 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. Is movg to ease rtrictns on blood donatns om gay and bisexual men and other groups that tradnally face higher risks of HIV.

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

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.

BLOOD DONATN BY 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.

FDA DROPS BLOOD DONATN RTRICTNS SPECIFIC TO GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

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.

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

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.

GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE

”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.

FDA PROPOS EASG BLOOD DONATN L FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

“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.

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.

GAY, BISEXUAL MEN UTAH N GIVE BLOOD UNR PANY’S LOOSENED RTRICTNS

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.

F.D.A. CONSIRG NEW APPROACH TO BLOOD DONATN BY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

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.

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 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. 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.

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

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.

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

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.

FDA PROPOS ALLOWG GAY AND BISEXUAL MONOGAMO MEN 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 NOW ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD UTAH AFTER S-LONG BAN

Food and Dg Admistratn is nsirg updatg s blood donatn policy, which currently plac some rtrictns on blood donatns om sexually active gay and bisexual a statement, an FDA spokperson said, "While we n't ment on what might be the ntent of the guidance, we n say that the screeng policy we put forward will be genr ntral and science-based. A ban on gay and bisexual blood donors began durg the HIV/AIDS crisis the 1980s, which primarily affected gay and bisexual men.

WHAT ARE THE BLOOD DONATN L GLOBALLY FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN?

"If a policy change is implemented, gay and bisexual men monogamo relatnships n donate whout abstag om sex. Activists said the rtrictns are based solely on inty rather than dividual risk bee the ban even appli to gay men who are monogamo, tt HIV negative and practice safe sex.

"There is a perceptn that beg a gay or bisexual person is and of self unsafe, " Sarah Warbelow, the legal director at Human Rights Campaign, told ABC News. "Not every gay man is the same, not every bisexual man is the same, not every straight person is the same, " Halkis add.

"As LGBTQ lears and medil experts have been sayg for years: bans and rtrictns on blood donatns om gay and bisexual men are rooted stigma, not science, " said Sarah Kate Ellis, print and CEO of ntued, "Givg one set of l to some people, and another set of l to others, based purely on inty, is blatant discrimatn. For the first time four s, gay and bisexual men will be allowed to donate blood Utah.