Carla Murais and Robin Foster
Health Day Reporter
THURSDAY, Dec. 1, 2022 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s policy limiting blood donations by men who have sex with men may soon be relaxed.
Currently, FDA policy does not allow men who have had sex with other men in the past three months to donate blood. That’s already shorter than in the past, when the agency required a one-year gap.
The agency is now considering switching to a questionnaire that focuses on individual risks, rather than sweeping restrictions, CNN report.
“FDA remains committed to gathering scientific data related to the replacement donor delay policy that maintains high levels of blood safety,” the agency said in a statement Wednesday. “We expect to issue an updated draft guidance in the coming months.”
Information collected through donor eligibility questionnaires and blood monitoring “may support policy transitions to individual risk-based donor screening questions to reduce the risk of HIV transmission,” the agency added, CNN report.
The FDA changed these guidelines in 2020 as the need for blood donations increased during the pandemic, CNN report.
“While today’s report on FDA’s overdue action is an important step, our community and leading medical experts will not stop advocating for the FDA to remove all restrictions on qualified LGBTQ blood donor candidates,” said GLAAD CEO and President Sarah Kate Ellis, an LGBTQ media advocacy group, said in a statement.
Other countries have already made similar moves: Britain has allowed men in a long-term relationship with another man to donate blood since 2020, but other men who have sex with men still have to wait three months before giving blood.
One wall street journal Men in monogamous relationships with other men would be allowed to donate blood, Wednesday’s report cited sources familiar with the FDA’s plans. People who have a new sexual partner and have had anal sex within the past three months will not be allowed to donate, CNN report.
“As LGBTQ leaders and medical experts have been saying for years: bans and restrictions on gay and bisexual men donating blood have their roots in stigma, not science,” Ellis said.
Medical and blood donation organizations expressed support for the plan.
“American Medical Association [American Medical Association] Constantly advocate for the removal of public policy that is inconsistent with scientific evidence and best ethical practice, which is why we urge the FDA to use reasonable, science-based delay periods for the fair and consistent application of blood, cornea, and other tissue based on the donor’s individual risk,” AMA President Dr. Jack Resneck Jr. told CNN.
The American Red Cross said Wednesday that it “believes that blood donation eligibility should not be determined through a method based on sexual orientation and is committed to working with partners to make this happen.”
The Red Cross added that it has participated in the FDA-funded ADVANCE study to determine whether a questionnaire assessing individual risk in gay and bisexual donors could replace a comprehensive time-based policy.
More information
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has more information on donating blood.
resource: CNN; Statement, November 30, 2022, GLAAD, American Red Cross
