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We believe the current FDA indefinite blood donation deferral for a man who has sex with another man since 1977 is medically and scientifically unwarranted. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety and Availability recommendation to change the current deferral criteria for prospective male blood donors who have had sexual contact with another male (MSM) is consistent with our joint position. This change in policy would align the donor deferral period for MSM with criteria for other activities that may pose a similar risk of transfusion transmissible infections. AABB, America’s Blood Centers and the American Red Cross support the recommendation that the FDA amend the current indefinite deferral of MSM to a 12-month deferral. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets minimum blood donation eligibility criteria in the United States. As one measure to promote blood safety, the U.S. The top priorities of the blood banking community are the safety of our volunteer blood donors and the ultimate recipients of blood.
#Can gay men donate blood in the united states full
Here is the full statement from the American Red Cross: The American Red Cross released a statement Tuesday saying they support the proposed changes and feel the current ban is medically and scientifically unwarranted. “I know people who would definitely be willing to donate, but are excluded by this rule,” Duke said. Therefore, he supports the possible change. “All the blood is tested, and gay men who are in monogamous relationships are no more at risk of contracting HIV than a heterosexual couple that’s in a monagomous relationship,” Harrison said.īenjamin Duke, who donates blood every 56 days, said not everyone is as generous with their blood as he is, and hospitals desperately need blood. Harrison said the current ban made sense in the past to protect the blood supply, but times have changed. Gay men were first banned from donating during the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, when many gay men were contracting the virus. The FDA’s Blood Products Advisory Committee met Tuesday to discuss and to hear scientific data related to reconsideration of the current blood donor deferral policy for men who have had sex with another man. “I think it’s a step in the right direction,” Bill Harrison, the Executive Director of the Gay Community Center of Richmond, said.
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The Food and Drug Administration may end its long-standing 1983 policy that bans men who have had sex with other men from donating blood, as long as the sex did not happen in the 12 months prior to donation.