WASHINGTON — The U.S. is transferring to additional ease restrictions on blood donations from homosexual and bisexual males and different teams that sometimes face greater dangers of HIV.
The Meals and Drug Administration on Friday introduced draft pointers that might dispose of the present three-month abstinence requirement for donations from males who’ve intercourse with males. As a substitute, all potential donors can be screened with a brand new questionnaire that evaluates their particular person dangers for HIV based mostly on sexual habits, current companions, and different components.
If finalized, many homosexual and bisexual males in monogamous relationships would be capable to donate blood for the primary time in many years. It’s the most recent transfer by the FDA to broaden donor eligibility, with the potential to spice up donations.
“We really feel assured that the protection of the blood provide might be maintained,” FDA’s Dr. Peter Marks advised reporters.
Homosexual rights teams have lengthy opposed blanket restrictions on who can provide blood, saying they discriminate towards the LGBTQ group. Medical societies together with the American Medical Affiliation have additionally stated such exclusions are pointless given advances in know-how to check blood for infectious ailments.
“Present and former blood donation insurance policies made unfounded assumptions about homosexual and bisexual males and actually entangled people’ identification with their chance of getting HIV,” stated Sarah Warbelow of the Human Rights Marketing campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group.
The U.S. and lots of different international locations began blocking blood donations from homosexual and bisexual males throughout the early 1980’s AIDS epidemic, aiming to forestall the unfold of HIV by the blood provide.
In 2015, the FDA dropped the lifetime ban and changed it with a one-year abstinence requirement. Then in 2020, the company shortened the abstinence period to 3 months, after donations plummeted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regulators stated there was no detrimental influence on the blood provide as a outcomes of these adjustments.
The FDA units necessities and procedures for blood banks all through the U.S. All potential donors reply questions on their sexual historical past, injectable drug use and any current tattoos or piercing, amongst different components that may contribute to the unfold of blood-borne infections. Donated blood is then examined for HIV, hepatitis C, syphilis, and different infectious ailments.
Beneath the brand new proposal, males who’ve intercourse with males might be requested if they’ve had new or a number of companions within the final three months. Those that reply affirmatively to both query and likewise report having anal intercourse can be barred from donating till a later date. The coverage would additionally apply to girls who’ve intercourse with homosexual or bisexual males.
Anybody who has ever examined optimistic for HIV would proceed to be ineligible to donate blood. These taking tablets to forestall HIV would additionally nonetheless be barred, till three months after their final dose. The FDA famous that the treatment, referred to as PrEP, can delay the detection of the virus in screening assessments.
Marks stated the company is keen to contemplate additional easing restrictions “however now we have to have the science to do this.”
FDA regulators will take public feedback on the proposal for 60 days earlier than starting to finalize the rules.
The proposed coverage mirrors these utilized in Canada and the U.Ok.
The FDA based mostly its newest proposal, partially, on a recent study of 1,600 homosexual and bisexual males. The FDA-funded analysis in contrast the effectiveness of an in depth, personalised questionnaire on sexual habits to the present time-based abstinence guidelines.
It can take a number of months for blood banks to make the adjustments, based on Cliff Numark, an government with Vitalant, a blood heart that participated within the research. The adjustments would require new questionnaires, coaching for employees and updating pc software program.
The Pink Cross stated it helps the FDA adjustments however added that it’s too early to know if they may lead to extra blood donations.
Lukas Pietrzak of Washington D.C., stated he eagerly volunteered for the FDA research. He credit emergency blood transfusions with saving his father’s life after a biking accident in 1991.
Pietrzak donated blood in highschool however turned ineligible after turning into sexually lively as a homosexual man.
“Till I absolutely got here out to my pals, I needed to skirt round why I by no means went to blood drives with them,” says Pietrzak, 26, who now works for the federal authorities.
When there are requires blood donations “now we’re capable of be a part of that,” Pietrzak stated.
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