Gay Men can give blood, thanks to reversal of federal ban

For the first time in three decades, blood donations from gay and bisexual men will be accepted — lifting a strict ban put in place at the start of the AIDS epidemic, officials said.

 

But major restrictions continue to limit those who can donate — including banning those who have had sex with a man in the previous 12 months, the Food and Drug Administration said Monday.

Gay rights activists oppose the one-year prohibition, arguing it unfairly singles out gay and bisexual men.

“It simply cannot be justified in light of current scientific research and updated blood-screening technology,” said David Stacy, of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest U.S. gay rights group.

The policy is in place in other countries, including Australia, Japan and Britain.

Dr. Peter Marks of the FDA said the change is “backed by sound scientific evidence” and will “continue to protect our blood supply.”

The FDA considered eliminating all restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, but concluded that would increase the transmission of HIV through the blood supply by 400%.

“An increase of that magnitude is not acceptable,” Marks said.

Currently, all U.S. blood donations are screened for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

But there is a roughly 10-day window between initial infection and when the virus can be detected by current testing techniques.

The American Red Cross estimates the risk of getting an HIV-positive blood donation is 1 in 1.5 million for all U.S. patients. About 15.7 million blood donations are collected in the U.S. each year.

The old lifetime ban was put in place during the early years of the AIDS crisis and was intended to guard the blood supply from what was then a little-understood disease.

The FDA concluded that moving to a one-year abstinence requirement would not change the safety of U.S. blood donations, based primarily on a similar policy enacted in Australia. That country has had a one-year rule for active gay and bisexual men for over 10 years.

FDA honchos say there is no similar data using shorter restriction periods.