FDA lifts ban on blood donatn for gay, bisexual men

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
• FDA LIFTS BAN ON BLOOD DONATN FOR GAY, BISEXUAL MEN
• FDA PROPOS ALLOWG GAY AND BISEXUAL MONOGAMO MEN TO DONATE BLOOD
• GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE
• NEW BLOOD DONATN RUL TO LOOSEN RTRICTNS ON GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• UTAH’S ARUP BLOOD SERVIC TO EASE RTRICTNS ON GAY, BISEXUAL MALE DONORS
• BLOOD DONATN BY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• I’M 43 – BUT I’M MA TO FEEL LIKE A DOSR BY YOUNGER GAY MEN
• HOW FDA'S FORTHG BLOOD DONOR POLICY CHANGE ULD HELP ADDRS STIGMA ABOUT GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• FDA LOOSENS RTRICTNS ON GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN, ENURAG BLOOD DONATNS AMID RONAVIS CRISIS
• LETTG GAY MEN DONATE BLOOD COULD HELP SOLVE A MAJOR HEALTH CRISIS
• GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN ARE NOW ALLOWED TO DONATE BLOOD IN ENGLAND, STLAND AND WAL
• FDA'S REVISED BLOOD DONATN GUIDANCE FOR GAY MEN STILL COURTS CONTROVERSY
• BIN ADMISTRATN SPEAKS OUT ON FERAL BLOOD DONATN POLICY IMPACTG GAY MEN AMID NATNAL BLOOD SHORTAGE
• CANADIAN BLOOD SERVIC NOW ALLOWS SOME GAY, BISEXUAL MEN TO DONATE PLASMA CALGARY, LONDON, ONT.
• WHY DO THE FDA STILL BAN BLOOD DONATNS FROM GAY 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. 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. 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. 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. ""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.

The Food and Dg Admistratn (FDA) has lifted a s-long ban on sexually active gay and bisexual men om donatg blood, overlg a rtrictn datg back to the 1980s AIDS crisis. Advot have long fought that the l were discrimatory agast sexually active gay and bisexual men. “It’s a discrimatory policy that assum that HIV is a gay disease, and is very much not, ” GLAAD’s Tony Morrison told NPR.

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.

FDA LIFTS BAN ON BLOOD DONATN FOR GAY, BISEXUAL MEN

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.

“The are excg chang to the guil that have historilly impacted gay and bisexual men for four s.”. Food and Dg Admistratn announced Friday will ease blood donatn rtrictns on gay and bisexual men, cludg allowg those monogamo relatnships to policy change, which was revealed new draft guidance, after years of urgg by public health experts, blood banks and LGBTQ advocy groups.

FDA PROPOS ALLOWG GAY AND BISEXUAL MONOGAMO MEN TO DONATE BLOOD

The new policy would addrs future blood shortag and remove the stigma around gay men, experts say. In 2020, amid severe blood shortag durg the start of the COVID-19 panmic, the FDA shortened the abstence perd to 90 policy change means gay and bisexual men monogamo relatnships n donate whout abstag om sex as long as they tt HIV negative and are practicg safe also means the U. 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.

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.

GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE

Said the new guil would be more clive and were based on a review of data om other Fremson/The New York TimThe Food and Dg Admistratn plans to revise a longstandg policy that exclud most gay and bisexual men om blood donatn, stead adoptg an approach that will screen donors pendg on their recent sexual activy, agency officials said on move follows years of cricism om L. Feral officials have long jtified the excln of gay and bisexual men as a way to keep H. In 2015, the agency allowed gay and bisexual men to donate if they had not had sexual ntact wh other men for the prev perd was rced to three months after severe blood shortag durg the Covid-19 F.

Said the agency’s proposal was an important step forward that would enable him — a gay married man — and many others to perform an important public service. Said the new approach would be genr-clive — the screeng would also apply to women who have sex wh gay and bisexual men — and would foc on dividual risk, not blanket prohibns on groups. A., shapg the proposal, reviewed data om a recent study of about 1, 600 gay and bisexual men eight metropolan areas.

”But, as a gay man, he said that not havg the abily to donate blood had ma him feel “shunned by the ernment, ” and he was disappoted that the change took so long.

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

More about Ey AnthA versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 21 of the New York edn wh the headle: New Blood Donatn Rul to Loosen Rtrictns on Gay and Bisexual Men. That’s why AABB has led efforts to make blood donatn clive of non-bary donors and champned the adoptn of equable, science-based dividual donor asssment (IDA) procs to terme blood donor eligibily that wele LGBTQ+ blood donors, strengthen the blood supply and save Approv Historic Expansn of Donor EligibilyOn May 11, 2023, the Food and Dg Admistratn issued a fal guidance elimatg time-based blood donor ferral perds for gay, bisexual and other men who have sex wh men (MSM) and women who have sex wh MSM.

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.

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

"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. The Food and Dg Admistratn on Thursday said would loosen some of the rtrictns that have blocked gay and bisexual men om donatg agency is changg the remend ferral perd for men who have had sex wh another man om 12 months to three months.

BLOOD DONATN BY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

Rtrictns on blood donatns om gay and bisexual men, and other groups nsired to be high risk for HIV or AIDS transmissn, date back to the 1980's. ET every weekday for special verage of the novel ronavis wh the full ABC News team, cludg the latt news, ntext and FDA said the chang would be implemented immediately and and are expected to rema place after the COVID-19 panmic revised guidance also clus people wh recent tattoos and piercgs and women who have had sex wh a gay or bisexual man; the remend ferral perd is now three months vers 12 Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Blogics Evaluatn and Rearch, said a statement: "Based on recently pleted studi and epimlogic data, we've nclud that the current polici regardg the eligibily of certa donors n be modified whout promisg the safety of the blood supply.

Contug to enforce the facto prohibn on blood donatn by sexually active gay and bisexual men do not reflect the bt science available.

I’M 43 – BUT I’M MA TO FEEL LIKE A DOSR BY YOUNGER GAY MEN

"In the last week Democratic senators and gay rights advocy groups have lled on the feral ernment to loosen the rtrictns, cg the recent blood shortag ed by the COVID-19 outbreak. "This is a victory for all of who raised our llective voic agast the discrimatory ban on gay and bisexual men donatg blood. We will keep fightg until the ferral perd is lifted and gay and bi men, and all LGBTQ people, are treated equal to others.

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.

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

”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. “Social and stctural factors that e gay men to feel othered e them to engage risky sexual behavr, ” Halkis says.

FDA LOOSENS RTRICTNS ON GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN, ENURAG BLOOD DONATNS AMID RONAVIS CRISIS

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.

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

Gay and bisexual men England, Stland, and Wal n now donate blood, plasma and platelets unr certa circumstanc whout havg to wa three months, the Natnal Health Service announced this week. Gay and bisexual men England, Stland, and Wal n now donate blood, plasma and platelets unr certa circumstanc, the Natnal Health Service announced this week a momento shift policy for most of the U. Begng Monday, gay men sexually active, monogamo relatnships for at least three months n donate for the first time.

S, the abily for gay and bisexual men to donate blood is still rtricted. A ban on gay and bisexual blood donors has been effect sce the early 1980s when fears about HIV/AIDS were wispread. The FDA has announced a relaxg of s rtrictns on gay men beg allowed to donate blood, light of the ronavis disease 2019 panmic.

Instead of 1 year, if a male has had sex wh another male, he need only wa 3 months to donate FDA has announced a relaxg of s rtrictns on gay men beg allowed to donate blood, light of the ronavis disease 2019 (COVID-19) panmic. How do they know if a gay man is gay? Harcup, 43, a gay man who liv Florida.

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

And ’s also outrageo to assume that gay men engage more risky sexual behavr than straight men. The revised policy match that the Uned Kgdom, which 2017 implemented a 3-month ferral policy for gay or bisexual men who want to donate blood technician, now a fns entreprenr and owner of, Alistaire Nzek, 34, of Hightstown, New Jersey, poted out, “The whole reason is bee they thk men who sleep wh men are at a higher risk of gettg HIV, " he said.

Jt bee I’m a gay man sleepg wh another men do not make my blood any ls clean.

You’re jt as likely to get HIV whether you’re straight or gay.

FDA'S REVISED BLOOD DONATN GUIDANCE FOR GAY MEN STILL COURTS CONTROVERSY

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 ’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.

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

LondonCanadian Blood Servic is takg the first steps to allowg gay and bisexual men who have sex wh men — which lls the gbMSM muny — to donate blood plasma, startg the tt ci of Calgary and London, agency's prev policy has been lled discrimatory, cludg by men who have sex wh menBlood plasma is the straw-loured liquid ponent left when blood cells are removed om whole blood.

Canadian Blood Servic is ttg out s plasma donatn eligibily, London, Ont., and Calgary, for gay and bisexual men who have sex wh men. (Hiep Vu via Canadian Blood Servic)Canadian Blood Servic is takg the first steps to allowg gay and bisexual men who have sex wh men — which lls the gbMSM muny — to donate blood plasma, which is startg two tt ci: Calgary, Alta., and London, marks the first time the agency is openg donatns to gay and bisexual men. My blood is a rare type and ed to donate regularly before gay men were banned.

"Plasma donated by gay, bisexual and other men who have sex wh men London and Calgary will be ma to plasma prote products when the donor at least 60 days later wh a plasma donatn that tts negative for fect diseas. It is ed a variety of treatments for rare, life-threateng, chronic and geic years, Canadian Blood Servic has e unr fire for not allowg men who have sex wh men to donate blood, a practice many ll homophobic. The agency did not say when would expand the current plasma donatn abily to other centr beyond Calgary and ferral perd drops to 3 months for gay, bisexual men"We unrstand that beg turned away om donatg n leave any donor wh a sense of tratn and disappotment, " the agency said.

CANADIAN BLOOD SERVIC NOW ALLOWS SOME GAY, BISEXUAL MEN TO DONATE PLASMA CALGARY, LONDON, ONT.

"We also regnize that the slow pace of chang to donor creria that still exclu many gay, bisexual and other men who have sex wh men has been paful and tratg for many, and we are workg to create a more clive system. A change to blood donatn l for gay and bisexual men Northern Ireland has been hailed as a “substantial step towards full equaly”. In the wake of immense public prsure, the Food & Dg Admistratn’s (FDA) ban on blood donatns om gay, bisexual and queer men took effect the 1980s amid the AIDS epimic the Uned Stat.

The crics lled for the end of the three-month celibacy requirement for gay, bisexual and queer men and further enuraged the FDA to lift what now seems like an unfair and unreasonable lifetime ban on otherwise eligible and willg blood donors. Why Can’t Gay, Bi and Queer Men Donate Blood? Sce effective screeng wasn’t reliable at the time, the FDA cid to rtrict blood donatns om gay and queer men.

WHY DO THE FDA STILL BAN BLOOD DONATNS FROM GAY MEN?

From a medil pot of view, rtrictg gay and bisexual men om exercisg the right to donate blood seems strange, pecially given the severe blood shortage.

Other Countri Are Increasgly Allowg Gay, Bi and Queer Men to Donate Blood. Even though HIV rat are disproportnately higher gay and bisexual cis men than heterosexual people and cis lbian and bisexual women, rtrictg MSM om donatg blood based on this history wh a lot of weight. Not only do the rtrictn feel like a genr-specific issue, but ’s also eply rooted homophobia.