Gay and Bisexual Men Are Now Allowed To Donate Blood In Most Of The U.K. : NPR

Contents:

• FDA DROPS BLOOD DONATN RTRICTNS SPECIFIC TO GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• MORE GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WILL NOW BE ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD UNR FALIZED FDA L
• BIN ADMISTRATN SPEAKS OUT ON FERAL BLOOD DONATN POLICY IMPACTG GAY MEN AMID NATNAL BLOOD SHORTAGE
• GAY MEN NOW ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD UTAH AFTER S-LONG BAN
• FDA TO LOOSEN BLOOD DONATN GUIL THAT RTRICTED GAY, BISEXUAL MEN
• UTAH’S ARUP BLOOD SERVIC TO EASE RTRICTNS ON GAY, BISEXUAL MALE DONORS
• BAN ON GAY BLOOD DONORS MAY END
• LETTG GAY MEN DONATE BLOOD COULD HELP SOLVE A MAJOR HEALTH CRISIS
• GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE
• GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN ARE NOW ALLOWED TO DONATE BLOOD IN ENGLAND, STLAND AND WAL

FDA DROPS BLOOD DONATN RTRICTNS SPECIFIC TO 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. Is movg to ease rtrictns on blood donatns om gay and bisexual men and other groups that tradnally face higher risks of HIV.

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

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

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

" 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. 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.

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

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 ’s PicksThe 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.

For the first time four s, gay and bisexual men will be allowed to donate blood Utah. Durg a prs nference Wednday afternoon, ARUP Blood Servic ma the announcement, makg the first donor center the state to accept donatns om the gay muny.

FDA TO LOOSEN BLOOD DONATN GUIL THAT RTRICTED GAY, BISEXUAL MEN

“The are excg chang to the guil that have historilly impacted gay and bisexual men for four s.”.

Gay men who were once unable to donate blood were able to participate blood driv for the very first time.

The US Food and Dg Admistratn on Friday announced chang to l that have long rtricted many gay and bisexual men om givg blood. Until 2015, gay and bisexual men weren't allowed to donate blood at all.

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

In 2020, the FDA shortened s ferral perd for men who have sex wh men, changg the requirement om wag 12 months sce the last sexual ntact to three blood donatn l and bans, largely impactg gay men but also rtrictg others, cludg people who've gotten tattoos or ject dgs, are based on the asssment of who's more at risk for ntractg human immunoficiency vis (HIV). The lifetime blood donatn rtrictn on men who have sex wh men that expired 2015 had been created the 1980s durg the HIV/AIDS crisis, which disproportnately impacted gay and bisexual men.

"That a science-based, dividualized risk asssment is the bt, most equable way to ensure safety of the blood supply while rcg unnecsary discrimatn agast gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex wh men. 14, 2000 -- A feral panel is nsirg overturng a ban on blood bank donatns by gay men — a le implemented 15 years ago out of fear of 1985 ban clar that any man who has had sex wh another man even once sce 1977 nnot give blood. Unr the current le, a heterosexual woman who has had sex wh numero AIDS-fected partners n give blood after wag a year, but a gay man who’s been celibate sce 1978 is banned.

Gay activists say that’s discrimatn. “The existg policy is archaic and discrimatory bee falsely assum that all gay men are HIV-posive regardls of their sexual behavr.

BAN ON GAY BLOOD DONORS MAY END

At the same time, allows heterosexuals to donate blood even if they have participated risky sexual or dg-e behavr, ” says Mart Algaze, spokman for Gay Men’s Health of the blood supply is the first prry, agre Doni Gewirtzman of the Lambda Legal Defense Fund, a legal-aid anizatn for gay people and people wh AIDS. He suggts the current rtrictns may be too tight on gays and too loose on promiscuo heterosexuals.

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

It’s about specific sexual behavr, not about sexual orientatn, ” says Tom Duane, a Democratic New York state senator who is both openly gay and bank officials say AIDS-tectn technology has vastly improved sce the 1980s. She don’t want the ban on donatns om gay men lifted.

It’s not jt gay men, but ’s also people who have ed IV dgs, and prostut” who are unr lifelong bans, she blood banks say they need the extra blood. “Unls there is an immediate and dramatic donatn crease, the rced shipments will ntue or grow worse, ” he said a WaThe FDA is most likely to shift to a policy unr which a gay man mt have abstaed om homosexual sex for five years before donatg blood, Ksler agency is beg nservative bee ’s worried about blood bankg errors — uns of fected blood that slip through the cracks bee of human error at blood banks. “Most gay men want to do their duty and be able to give blood, ” says year, the Blood Centers of the Pacific San Francis llected 100, 000 uns of blood.

Wh the natn’s blood supply at s lowt pot a , and the Amerin Red Cross clarg s first-ever natnal blood crisis earlier this month, is time for the Food and Dg Admistratn (FDA) to do somethg the AMA and others have urged for years: remove s discrimatory ban that prevents many gay and bisexual men om beg blood donors. The existg ban requir gay or bisexual men to absta om sex for a mimum of three months before they n donate blood. The roots of limatns agast gay and bisexual blood donors date back to the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s.

GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE

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.

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

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.