Red cross gay restriction
Did FDA rule change allowing gay, bisexual men to donate blood make a difference? Some early statistics suggests it did
For years, Jose Dominguez, 50, had wanted to donate blood, feeling it was part of his civic duty.
But he was restricted by rules set in place by the U.S. Sustenance and Drug Administration that did not allow sexually active gay men from donating.
That finally changed in May , when the FDA dropped all restrictions specific to gay and bisexual men donating blood, moving to a modern blood donation risk judgment tool that is the same for every donor regardless of how they identify, which rolled out in August
In Rally of this year, Dominguez finally donated blood for the first time, and he did so with his husband, Craig Burdett. For Burdett, 62, it was the first period he had donated blood since , when he began openly identifying as gay.
"I was grinning just from ear to ear, just because of the fact that we were able to do this," Dominguez, who is the head of the American Red Cross Long Island chapter, told ABC News. "I've never done it before, and I was getting to do it with my husband."
"This is something that we had talked about along
While the FDA rules for blood donation were revised twice in the last decade, one group — men who have sex with men (MSM) — continued to be turned away from donating. Now new, evidence-based FDA rules embraced by the American Red Cross will center on individual risk rather than groupwide restrictions.
Medical experts consider the new rules safe based on extensive evidence. Let's review the changes here.
The new blood donation rules: One put of questions
The May FDA guidelines recommend asking every potential blood donor the same screening questions. These questions ask about habit that raises risk for HIV, which can be spread through a transfusion.
Blood donation is then allowed, or not, based on personal risk factors for HIV and other blood-borne diseases.
Questions for potential blood donors
Screening questions focus on the risk of recent HIV infection, which is more likely to be missed by routine testing than a longstanding infection.
The screening questions ask everyone — regardless of gender, sex, or sexual orientation — whether in the past three months they have
- had a new sexual partner and engaged in anal sex
- had more than one sexual
Changes to blood and plasma donation in
There is no question blood donation rules for gay and bisexual men must transform. We hear their pain and frustration when they can’t do something so many people take for granted – help their fellow human being with the simple yet life-giving act of donating blood or plasma.
Of course, the safety of blood and plasma products for patients will always be our number one priority, but Lifeblood wants change too, and we can complete it in a way that safely goes even further than what is being done overseas. We want to propose donation options that allow as many people as doable to donate, including those with new or multiple partners and the tens of thousands taking PrEP, an antiretroviral medication to prevent HIV.
To this close, we have been productive towards two approaches. One would allow everyone, regardless of their sexual exercise, including gay and fluid men, and anyone taking PrEP, to donate plasma without any wait period at all through the ‘plasma pathway’. The other sees people donating blood using what’s called an individual risk assessment (IRA) or a gender-neutral approach, where all donors are asked the same questions regardless of t
How new FDA rule allowing gay, bisexual men to give blood is making donation more inclusive
For at least a decade, Chris Van Bibber had been prevented from donating blood.
The year-old from Salt Lake City, Utah -- who is openly queer -- was restricted due to rules set in place by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that did not allow sexually active queer men from donating.
However, this past May, the FDA dropped all restrictions specific to gay and attracted to both genders men donating blood, moving to a new blood donation risk assessment tool that is the similar for every donor regardless of how they distinguish , which rolled out in August.
This meant that Van Bibber was able to make history as he donated blood at the American Red Cross Blood Donation Center in his home city.
"To sit endorse in that chair and to go through the questionnaire beforehand, and it was just -- I felt so much excitement and so much relief that we were finally here," Van Bibber told ABC News. "I just felt like I was finally able to undertake my part and it's a small thing to do that can construct such a big difference."
The new policy is one that public health experts and gay rights activists said ha
.