The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday called for public comment on a possible change to its policy banning men who have had sex with men within the past year from donating blood.
Related: The Number Of Men Who Have Never Had An HIV Test Is Staggering
There had been a lifetime ban in place, instituted during the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis, when there wasn’t a simple way to detect its presence in blood. The change to a one year abstinence requirement for men who have sex with men came in December of 2015, when the FDA set new guidelines.
Women who have had sex with a man in the past twelve months who himself has had sex with another man in the past twelve months are also banned from donating for one year.
“When FDA issued the December 2015 guidance, it noted that while the December 2015 guidance represents FDA’s current thinking on the subject, FDA was committed to continuing to reevaluate and update blood donor deferral policies as new scientific information becomes available,” they said in their statement. “FDA also noted that, because the process must be data-driven, FDA could not specify a time for when future policy changes might occur.”
Related: Five Reasons Why Homophobia Is The Only Reason FDA Won’t Change Its Blood Ban Policy
“As part of the effort to continue to assess its donor deferral policies, FDA is opening this docket to provide a mechanism for the public to submit additional information regarding potential blood donor deferral policy options,” they continued. “Specifically, we invite interested persons to submit to the docket comments supported by scientific evidence regarding possible revisions to FDA’s blood donor deferral policies to reduce the risk of HIV transmission by blood and blood products. FDA requests that commenters provide scientific evidence, such as data from research, to support any suggestions. Additionally, comments are invited regarding the design of potential studies to evaluate the feasibility or effectiveness of such alternative deferral policy options.”
Political pressure has continued to build over the years, calling for a change to the policy that many medical experts and lawmakers have called discriminatory. That conversation has grown louder after the mass shooting in Orlando at the LGBTQ nightclub Pulse.
Many of the friends of the victims of the attack were unable to donate blood, even as the city called for donations. There were rumors that an Orlando blood bank was rebelling and allowing gay and bisexual men to donate blood, but those reports were untrue.
Related: MTV’s “True Life” To Tell Orlando Pulse Shooting Survivors’ Heartbreaking And Heroic Stories
Blood donation policies vary from country to country, with some having no deferral for donation from men who have sex with men and others with a lifetime ban.
The United States is not the only country to be reassessing their blood donation policy for gay and bi men, and the women who love them.
France recently softened their blood donation policy, which now matches that of America’s.
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
This isn’t even in the top ten things that need to be worked on in gay rights but idiots are going to push this instead. Substance over PC morons.
Jeff taylor
@IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou: Are you sure about that? Because the American Red Cross just put out an emergency call for blood donations since there is a shortage. That’s a lot of people being turned away from donating in the midst of shortages. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/07/26/american-red-cross-blood-donations-emergency-shortage-five-day-supply/87560892/
Brian
This blood ban is clearly discriminatory and illogical. Perfectly healthy men who had anal sex with other men were being told their blood was tainted, basically. It’s an example of outrageous homophobia.
Meanwhile, sleazy straight-identifying guys who have anal sex with women, as well as women who have anal sex with men, were told “yes, we want your blood”.
The US Food and Drug Administration doesn’t need “public comment”. It needs to get its ass out of its behind and get rid of the discriminatory and highly anti-male and anti-homosexual blood ban.
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
@Jeff taylor: Yes I am. No one dies from lack of blood in this country. Those calls are to build up the supply when prevent that from happening. They aren’t out. They are placing an order to get it before it’s needed.
Jeff taylor
@IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou: These shortages are still concerning, even if people aren’t dying. It would be a lot easier to build up the supply and prevent shortages if they weren’t blocking an entire group of people who could be donating.
Not to mention, I believe we can manage to take on multiple challenges at once. Attempting to seek improvement in this area does not mean we cannot work toward the issues you would place in the top ten. Which, I’d imagine, are also currently being worked on.
And this doesn’t require much manpower or resources. They are simply asking people to submit evidence that their current practice is not best. The goal should always be to get it right.
GayEGO
All institutions such as the American Red Cross should accept all human blood donations and test the blood for viruses like HIV etc. Straights have the same viruses that Gays have such as HIV transmitted via drugees using needles.