Current:Home > ScamsSurpassing Quant Think Tank Center|FDA moves to ease restrictions on blood donations for men who have sex with men -Excel Wealth Summit
Surpassing Quant Think Tank Center|FDA moves to ease restrictions on blood donations for men who have sex with men
Robert Brown View
Date:2025-04-07 15:56:40
Updated 12:55 p.m. ET
The Surpassing Quant Think Tank CenterU.S. Food and Drug Administration issued proposed guidance Friday to ease restrictions on blood donations by men who have sex with men.
The change is expected to take effect after a public comment period.
The restrictions on donating blood date back to the early days of the AIDS epidemic and were designed to protect the blood supply from HIV. Originally, gay and bisexual men were completely prohibited from donating blood. Over time, the FDA relaxed the lifetime ban, but still kept in place some limits.
Under the current policy — last updated in 2020 — men who have sex with men can donate blood if they haven't had sexual contact with other men for three months.
The new proposed policy would eliminate the time-based restrictions on men who have sex with men (and their female partners) and instead screen potential donors' eligibility based on a series of questions that assess their HIV risk, regardless of gender. Anyone taking medications to treat or prevent HIV, including PrEP, would not be eligible.
The risk assessment would include questions about anal sex. Potential donors who've had anal sex in the last three months with a new sexual partner or more than one sexual partner would not be eligible to give blood.
The changes are aimed at addressing criticism that the current policy is discriminatory and outdated, as well as one more barrier to bolstering the nation's blood supply. Blood banks already routinely screen donated blood for HIV.
"We are moving now to an inclusive policy for blood donation," said Dr. Peter Marks, who leads the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the FDA during a briefing Friday.
"We will continue to work to make sure that we have policies that allow everyone who wants to donate blood to be able to donate blood within what the science allows to make sure that the blood supply remains safe."
In crafting the new guidance, the FDA has been looking to the results of a study of about 1,600 gay and bisexual men to develop screening questions that can identify potential donors who are most likely to be infected with HIV.
Reaction to the news from advocates, medical groups and blood banks has been positive.
"The blood community is very excited about the proposed changes," says Kate Fry, CEO of America's Blood Centers. "We have advocated for a decade now for a move to an individual risk assessment model. So this is very welcome by blood centers across the country."
She stressed that all donated blood is carefully screened for HIV and that testing has improved dramatically to ensure the safety of the blood supply.
For many years, the American Medical Association, the American Red Cross and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups have pushed for a change to the federal rules on blood donations.
"These changes are 40-plus years in the making and they're a tremendous leap forward in elevating science over stigma," says Tony Morrison, a spokesperson for the advocacy group GLAAD.
But GLAAD and other groups say the changes still don't go far enough. They argue that some of the remaining restrictions are still unnecessary and stigmatizing, such as the prohibition against donations by people taking medication PrEP to prevent HIV.
"When we limit and defer people who are being proactive in their sexual health that stigmatizes them. The misconception is that people on PrEP are promiscuous or have a higher risk of HIV infection — that's categorically false," says Morrison.
So his group will continue to lobby the FDA to further ease restrictions.
The proposed changes in the blood donation rules will be open for public comment for 60 days. The FDA will then review those comments and issue a final rule, probably later this year. So monogamous gay men could start donating blood again sometime in 2023.
veryGood! (3337)
Related
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Get an Extra 50% off GAP’s Best Basics Just in Time for Spring, With Deals Starting at $10
- Why Kyle Richards Needs a Break From RHOBH Following Mauricio Umansky Split
- What are PFAS? Forever chemicals and their health effects, explained
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- What Really Led to Golden Bachelor's Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist's Whirlwind Breakup
- O.J. Simpson murder trial divided America. Those divisions remain nearly 30 years later.
- A Nigerian transgender celebrity is jailed for throwing money into the air, a rare conviction
- US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
- Manhattan court must find a dozen jurors to hear first-ever criminal case against a former president
Ranking
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- US, Japan and South Korea hold drills in disputed sea as Biden hosts leaders of Japan, Philippines
- Knopf to publish posthumous memoir of Alexey Navalny in October
- Trump will be first ex-president on criminal trial. Here’s what to know about the hush money case
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- World reacts to O.J. Simpson's death, from lawyers and victim's relatives to sports stars and celebrities
- White Green: Summary of the digital currency trading market in 2023 and outlook for the digital currency market in 2024.
- Kato Kaelin thinks O.J. Simpson was guilty, wonders if he did penance before his death
Recommendation
From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
Convicted killer of college student Kristin Smart attacked at California prison for second time
Knopf to publish posthumous memoir of Alexey Navalny in October
Amanda Knox back on trial in Italy in lingering case linked to roommate Meredith Kercher's murder
Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
Colorado Skier Dallas LeBeau Dead at 21 After Attempting to Leap 40 Feet Over Highway
International migrants were attracted to large urban counties last year, Census Bureau data shows
DeSantis bans local governments from protecting workers from heat and limits police oversight boards