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

Contents:

• FDA DROPS BLOOD DONATN RTRICTNS SPECIFIC TO GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• 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
• GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE
• FDA LIFTS BAN ON BLOOD DONATN FOR GAY, BISEXUAL MEN
• I'M A GAY MAN AND HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD DUE TO THE FDA BAN. I WAS PART OF THE RED CROSS STUDY THAT WILL HELP OVERTURN THAT.
• GAY MEN NOW ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD UTAH AFTER S-LONG BAN
• NEW BLOOD DONATN RUL TO LOOSEN RTRICTNS ON GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN ARE NOW ALLOWED TO DONATE BLOOD IN ENGLAND, STLAND AND WAL
• BLOOD DONATN BY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• CANADA LIFTS RTRICTNS ON GAY MEN DONATG BLOOD
• UTAH’S ARUP BLOOD SERVIC TO EASE RTRICTNS ON GAY, BISEXUAL MALE DONORS

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.

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

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. For example, if you’re a gay man who wears ndoms durg sex, you lim your risk of ntractg HIV.

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

Same go for gay men who are married or a long-term monogamo relatnship.

GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE

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.

FDA LIFTS BAN ON BLOOD DONATN FOR GAY, BISEXUAL MEN

”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.

I'M A GAY MAN AND HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD DUE TO THE FDA BAN. I WAS PART OF THE RED CROSS STUDY THAT WILL HELP OVERTURN THAT.

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.

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

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.

" 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. 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.”.

BLOOD DONATN BY GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

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. In high school, I uldn't donate blood like the rt of my peers bee I'm gay. For years, I wanted to donate, but the FDA's ban on gay men donatg blood stood my way.

CANADA LIFTS RTRICTNS ON GAY MEN DONATG BLOOD

But the study I signed up for required only six Red Cross-sponsored Advance study llected blood om 1, 600 gay and bisexual men across the US. Sce then, has been lled "neher medilly nor scientifilly warranted" by the Amerin Red Cross and "discrimatory and not based on sound science" by the Amerin Medil Associatn; all donated blood is screened for HIV, regardls of the donor's genr or sexual a gay man, I was barred om donatg blood all my life until I signed up for the Advance study.

I was first barred om donatg blood high schoolGrowg up a Los Angel school, I was fortably, proudly, and illtrly gay — my teenage md, at least. I didn't want to expla that gay blood was emed unworthy of donatn. I wasn't angry that I was beg discrimated agast; I was angry bee I had blood to give — blood that I wanted to give — and wasn't able to bee of an illegimate policy rooted Reagan-era homophobia.

This year, the FDA proposed a plan that would elimate the time lims and allow monogamo gay men to donate. Fally, I got to give blood as a proud gay manAt the Pasana Red Cross Blood, Platelet and Plasma Donatn Center, I was led to a private room the back. Gay men who were once unable to donate blood were able to participate blood driv for the very first time.

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

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.