8/22/2023 0 Comments Gay men cant donate blood![]() Blood donations are decreasing about 1 percent a year, while demand for blood is increasing by 1 percent a year. Only 8 million Americans donate blood, just 5 percent of currently eligible donors. The FDA considered easing the ban partly because the nation is facing an increasingly tight blood supply. Rebecca Haley, the Red Cross's chief medical officer. Government scientists narrowly rejected a proposal to ease the ban on gay male blood donors Thursday, citing uncertainty over whether the move would increase. ![]() "We cannot change our procedures in a way that would result in increased numbers of infectious donation in our blood supply," said Dr. Later, other high-risk people were barred from donating, such as intravenous drug users and prostitutes.īut nowwith the nation bracing for blood shortages and new genetic tests promising to eliminate the rare cases of HIV still caused by donated bloodmany blood banks are asking why they have to turn away thousands of healthy men.īut even panelists who voted against the change did encourage the FDA to continue to study how to change what several called a discriminatory policy that mandates that no gay men can give blood even though doctors are only worried about a subset of that population.Ībout 8 percent of gay men have HIV, th government estimates. MSM must be celibate for three months to give blood because of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) policy dating back 40 years to the onset of the AIDS crisis. The ban on gay male donors was adopted in 1985 because the deadly AIDS virus first appeared in the United States as an epidemic in the gay community. Even so, gay and bisexual men, clinically referred to as men who have sex with men or MSM, are still being told that their blood is too dangerous to donate. ![]() ![]() So as an extra precaution, the FDA also requires blood banks to question potential donors about their risks for HIV and other diseases and refuse the blood of high-risk people. Michael Busch of the University of California-San Francisco. Of the nation's 12 million units of donated blood, about 10 HIV-infected units slip through each year, causing about two to three HIV infections a year, said Dr. They would have to abstain from sex for 12 months to be eligible for donation. The issue has split the blood industry, with half the nation's blood banks supporting a further easing of the policyto one year, instead of fivewhile the American Red Cross opposes any change.Īll donated blood undergoes strict testing for the AIDS virus and other blood-borne diseasesthat would not have changed. Summary Previously, men who have sex with men (MSM) were unable to donate blood. This study seeks to identify behaviors of men who are currently eligible to donate as well as. That might result in 1.7 HIV-infected units of blood slipping into the blood supply, he said. The new study is an assessment of opinions and perspectives on the current MSM blood donation policy. Vitalant Blood Center tells 11 News in a statement in part, “We believe that donor eligibility criteria should be based on the latest available scientific data, not sexual orientation, and support the FDA’s proposed guidance for an individual risk assessment for reducing the risk of HIV in the blood supply.Changing the policy would have resulted in about 62,300 menboth gays and those who had experimented with homosexual activity only onceseeking to donate blood, estimated FDA medical officer Dr. Gay and bisexual men can only give blood if they defer from sleeping with the same sex for at least 90 days, even though the blood is tested when donated. Participants tried to donate blood, but were turned down due to. The eligibility requirement states lesbian and transgender people can give blood without restrictions. A person is tested during the first gay men's blood drive, held at the Memorial Blood Center in St. The draft recommendations they have in place now will supersede their previous guidance.Īccording to Vitalant Blood Donation Eligibility, the only groups in the LGBTQ+ spectrum that cannot give blood without restrictions are gay and bisexual men. The FDA tells 11 News the last time the blood eligibility requirement has been revised was back in August 2020. ![]() This comes after the Food and Drug Administration drafted a proposal almost two weeks ago. (KKTV) - The public has less than 60 days to comment on gay and bisexual men being eligible to donate blood without restrictions. ![]()
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