The U.S. is moving to further ease restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men and other groups that typically face higher risks of HIV.
\nThe Food and Drug Administration on Friday announced draft guidelines that would do away with the current three-month abstinence requirement for donations from men who have sex with men. Instead, all potential donors would be screened with a new questionnaire that evaluates their individual risks for HIV based on sexual behavior, recent partners and other factors.
\nIf finalized, many gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships would be able to donate blood for the first time in decades. It\u2019s the latest move by the FDA to broaden donor eligibility, with the potential to boost donations.
\n\u201cWe feel confident that the safety of the blood supply will be maintained,\u201d FDA\u2019s Dr. Peter Marks told reporters.
\nGay rights groups have long opposed blanket restrictions on who can give blood, saying they discriminate against the LGBTQ community. Medical societies including the American Medical Association have also said such exclusions are unnecessary given advances in technology to test blood for infectious diseases.
\n\u201cCurrent and former blood donation policies made unfounded assumptions about gay and bisexual men and really entangled individuals\u2019 identity with their likelihood of having HIV,\u201d said Sarah Warbelow of the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group.<\/p>\n
FDA moves to ease rules for blood donations from gay men
\nBy MATTHEW PERRONEtoday<\/p>\n
FILE – Tubes direct blood from a donor into a bag in Davenport, Iowa, on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022. The U.S. is moving to ease restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men and other groups that traditionally face higher risks of HIV. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023, announced draft guidelines that would do away with the current three-month abstinence requirement for donations from men who have sex with men. (AP Photo\/Charlie Neibergall, File)
\nWASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The U.S. is moving to further ease restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men and other groups that typically face higher risks of HIV.
\nThe Food and Drug Administration on Friday announced draft guidelines that would do away with the current three-month abstinence requirement for donations from men who have sex with men. Instead, all potential donors would be screened with a new questionnaire that evaluates their individual risks for HIV based on sexual behavior, recent partners and other factors.
\nIf finalized, many gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships would be able to donate blood for the first time in decades. It\u2019s the latest move by the FDA to broaden donor eligibility, with the potential to boost donations.
\n\u201cWe feel confident that the safety of the blood supply will be maintained,\u201d FDA\u2019s Dr. Peter Marks told reporters.
\nGay rights groups have long opposed blanket restrictions on who can give blood, saying they discriminate against the LGBTQ community. Medical societies including the American Medical Association have also said such exclusions are unnecessary given advances in technology to test blood for infectious diseases.
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\n\u201cCurrent and former blood donation policies made unfounded assumptions about gay and bisexual men and really entangled individuals\u2019 identity with their likelihood of having HIV,\u201d said Sarah Warbelow of the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group.
\nThe U.S. and many other countries started blocking blood donations from gay and bisexual men during the early 1980\u2032s AIDS epidemic, aiming to prevent the spread of HIV through the blood supply.
\nIn 2015, the FDA\u00a0dropped the lifetime ban\u00a0and replaced it with a one-year abstinence requirement. Then in 2020, the agency\u00a0shortened the abstinence period\u00a0to three months, after donations plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
\nRegulators said there has been no negative impact on the blood supply as a results of those changes.
\nThe FDA sets requirements and procedures for blood banks throughout the U.S. All potential donors answer questions about their sexual history, injectable drug use and any recent tattoos or piercing, among other factors that can contribute to the spread of blood-borne infections. Donated blood is then tested for HIV, hepatitis C, syphilis and other infectious diseases.
\nUnder the new proposal, men who have sex with men will be asked if they have had new or multiple partners in the last three months. Those who answer affirmatively to either question and also report having anal sex would be barred from donating until a later date. The policy would also apply to women who have sex with gay or bisexual men.
\nAnyone who has ever tested positive for HIV would continue to be ineligible to donate blood. Those taking pills to prevent HIV through sexual contact would also still be barred, until three months after their last dose. The FDA noted that the medication, known as PrEP, can delay the detection of the virus in screening tests.
\nMarks said the agency is willing to consider further easing restrictions \u201cbut we have to have the science to do that.\u201d
\nFDA regulators will take public comments on the proposal for 60 days before beginning to finalize the guidelines.
\nThe proposed policy mirrors those used in Canada and the U.K.
\nLGBTQ groups welcomed the FDA\u2019s announcement but said the proposal should not exclude people using PrEP medications.
\n\u201cWe must be conscious to not further stigmatize these safe sex practices and uplift individuals taking precautions,\u201d said Jose Abrigo of Lambda Legal, which has long pushed to change the FDA policy.
\nThe FDA based its latest proposal, in part,\u00a0on a recent study\u00a0of 1,600 gay and bisexual men. The FDA-funded research compared the effectiveness of a detailed, personalized questionnaire on sexual behavior to the current time-based abstinence rules.
\nIt will take several months for blood banks to make the changes, according to Cliff Numark, an executive with Vitalant, a blood center that participated in the study. The changes will require new questionnaires, training for staff and updating computer software.
\nThe Red Cross said it supports the FDA changes but added that it\u2019s too early to know if they will result in more blood donations.
\nLukas Pietrzak of Washington D.C., said he eagerly volunteered for the FDA study. He credits emergency blood transfusions with saving his father\u2019s life after a cycling accident in 1991.
\nPietrzak donated blood in high school but became ineligible after becoming sexually active as a gay man.
\n\u201cUntil I fully came out to my friends, I had to skirt around why I never went to blood drives with them,\u201d says Pietrzak, 26, who now works for the federal government.
\nWhen there are calls for blood donations \u201cnow we\u2019re able to be part of that,\u201d Pietrzak said.
\nThe Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.<\/p>\n