For instance, despite current restrictions and testing of approximately 12 million units donated each year, 10 HIV-infected units have slipped through. To ensure the safety of blood and other tissues for donation, the FDA uses scientific data to automatically defer certain populations.
Because gay and bisexual men have higher incidence of disease, they are eliminated from the donor pool immediately. Human Rights Campaign believes that the updated policy, like its precursors, does not treat persons with like risks in a similar way. It also believes that donors are deferred based on their membership in a group — in this case, all men who have sex with men — rather than engagement in risky behavior, such as unprotected sex.
For example, a man who has had protected oral sex with another man once in the 3 months currently barred from donating blood. Yet a woman who has had unprotected sex with multiple partners over the same time frame with no knowledge of their personal histories remains in the donor pool.
HRC believes that the integrity and safety of the blood supply in this country should be preserved, strengthened and maintained. The organization selected this time window to allow adequate time to detect potential infections present in the blood. Research notes that this change did not result in an increase in HIV incidence among first-time donors. Researchers have suggested that the current criteria rely on old biases and that scientists should advocate for policies rooted in science and against ones that unnecessarily marginalize groups of people.
Some experts recommend that the deferral period should instead be 2 weeks and that blood donation criteria should undergo further revision to treat all people equally. However, a person who registers as female could have unprotected sex with multiple partners over the same time with no knowledge of their sexual or health history and remain in the donor pool. Groups such as the Human Rights Campaign advocate for the FDA to revise donation eligibility to evaluate the risk of sexual behaviors equally, without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity.
According to general blood donation criteria , donors must:. Learn more about who can donate blood. Typically, the questions in the DHQ will ask a person about their health, recent travel, medications, and potential risk of infections. According to current policies, people can donate blood if it has been at least 3 months since they last had sex with a male who has sex with other males. If they pass other blood donation criteria, they may be able to donate blood. Several organizations are advocating for changes to the blood donation guidelines so that they treat everyone equally, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Donating blood is important and can help save lives. Learn more about blood donations, including how long they take and some potential side effects…. There are some things to consider before giving blood. Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of donating blood, plus how it affects the body…. Donating blood can have positive effects on a person's mental and physical health. Therein lies the rub: these guidelines have remained in place for years, long after processes exist to test blood products to determine if they are safe, no matter who donates.
The revised policy matches that in the United Kingdom, which in implemented a 3-month deferral policy for gay or bisexual men who want to donate blood. Former blood technician, now a fitness entrepreneur and owner of anftraining. Men who had sex with men MSM after were barred from donating blood between September and December , when there was a lifetime ban against donating, even if there had been one sexual encounter. The change comes as Anthony S. Consensus at present echoes this sentiment.
Same goes for gay men who are married or in a long-term monogamous relationship. Men will answer questions about their sexual risk. Results from this study are expected in late But if the sexual-risk disclosures can vet candidates as well as or better than the time-based ban, the FDA may use that information to potentially change its donation procedures for MSM. The FDA has not said when that policy change might take effect. The earliest it might happen would be in , says Lightfoot. It might also take longer if the agency decides that additional confirmational studies are needed.
The policy change could have a significant positive effect on the mental health of gay and bisexual men, too. This sort of categorical dehumanization can lead to a slew of negative mental-health outcomes , including depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and tendencies.
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