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.
Contents:
- LETTG GAY MEN DONATE BLOOD COULD HELP SOLVE A MAJOR HEALTH CRISIS
- MORE GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WILL NOW BE ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD UNR FALIZED FDA L
- WHY DO FDA BAN ‘GAY’ BLOOD?
- GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE
- GAY MEN STILL UNABLE TO DONATE BLOOD AND PLASMA SPE NEW FDA GUIL. HERE'S WHY.
- THIS IS THE REASON WHY GAY MEN CAN’T DONATE BLOOD
- NEW ATRALIAN BLOOD DONATN L FOR GAY MEN DON’T GO FAR ENOUGH, ADVOT SAY
LETTG GAY MEN DONATE BLOOD COULD HELP SOLVE A MAJOR HEALTH CRISIS
* why cant gays give blood *
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.
MORE GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WILL NOW BE ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD UNR FALIZED FDA L
Gay and bisexual men are still rtricted om givg blood, a move that LGBTQ activists ll discrimatory. * why cant gays give blood *
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.
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.
WHY DO FDA BAN ‘GAY’ BLOOD?
Gay men a lot of untri n't donate blood. This is due to medil reasons but some tend to blame as discrimatory. Fd out the reason. * why cant gays give 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. Let them know you don’t support discrimatory practic that ban gay and bisexual men om dog their civic duty. 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.
GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE
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.
Blood supply is dangeroly low bee of a sharp drop donatns durg the COVID-19 so, gay and bisexual men, clilly referred to as “men who have sex wh men” or MSM, are still beg told that their blood is too “dangero” to donate.
GAY MEN STILL UNABLE TO DONATE BLOOD AND PLASMA SPE NEW FDA GUIL. HERE'S WHY.
MSM mt be celibate for three months to give blood bee of a Food and Dg Admistratn (FDA) policy datg back 40 years to the onset of the AIDS ban do harm by perpetuatg the stigma that HIV/AIDS is a “gay disease, ” said Jason Cianctto, GMHC’s vice print of munitns and policy. “It suggts there is somethg herently wrong and ‘dirty’ about gay and bisexual men that mak them diseased and dangero to others. ”Gay and bisexual men are the only group sgled out for the three-month ferral bee of who they are.
THIS IS THE REASON WHY GAY MEN CAN’T DONATE BLOOD
People livg wh HIV also n’t FDA’s blanket ferral clus many HIV-negative people wh a low-to-zero risk of HIV fectn, and accurately suggts all gay and bisexual men are livg wh stance, although Cianctto and his hband are not an open relatnship, the three-month celibacy perd still appli.
NEW ATRALIAN BLOOD DONATN L FOR GAY MEN DON’T GO FAR ENOUGH, ADVOT SAY
Dpe enormo advanc scientific knowledge about HIV transmissn and the advent of highly accurate blood screeng tts, the FDA has not changed s policy targetg gay and bisexual HIV and AIDS was rrectly labeled a “gay disease” the early 1980s, the FDA imposed a lifetime blood donatn ban on any man who’d had sex wh another man sce 1977, along wh sex workers, traveno dg ers and people livg wh HIV. This wdow is signifintly ls than the three months of celibacy required by the ’s roleFor s, GMHC has been fightg the discrimatory ban bee falsely stigmatiz gay and bisexual men as rriers of a “gay disease. Prompted by the COVID-19 epimic, the FDA December 2020 signed off on a pilot study for three major blood centers, the Amerin Red Cross, Valant and OneBlood, to do jt ADVANCE Study is recg 2, 000 gay and bisexual men eight ci to supply a blood sample and answer behavral qutns about HIV risk factors.
They have not yet been able to rec the requise 2000 gay and bisexual men, perhaps bee the study self, by focg solely on this populatn, perpetuat the stigma of “gay blood. ”“At a time when I was still figurg out my inty, the ernment was affirmg harmful thgs I had been raised to believe about myself: If you are gay, you will die alone om AIDS, ” he hasn’t been advotg all the years to endg the discrimatory ferral perd jt so gay and bisexual men n give blood, Cianctto said.
”Thirty years after Cianctto’s troublg experience, a gay male teen tryg to do their civic duty and give blood will still be asked if they’ve had sex wh a man—and turned away if the answer is y. ”Photo: Blood Mirror is a sculpture and llaborative project by Jordan Eagl, created wh 59 blood donatns om gay, bisexual, and transgenr men.