The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed new draft guidelines regarding blood donations from gay and bisexual men and other groups considered to be at high risk of HIV, The Associated Press (AP) reports.
Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men are the population most affected by HIV, according to hiv.gov. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), of the 30,635 new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. in 2020, 68% (20,758) were among gay and bisexual men.
The current rule requiring three months of abstinence from sexual activity prior to blood donation would be replaced by a questionnaire evaluating individual HIV risks based on various factors such as sexual behavior, partners, and others.
“We feel confident that the safety of the blood supply will be maintained,” says FDA’s Dr. Peter Marks. The new guidelines, if finalized, could boost blood donations and give gay and bisexual men in committed relationships the opportunity to donate for the first time in decades.
Advocacy groups for LGBTQ rights have long opposed restrictions on blood donations that single out their communities.
The American Medical Association and other medical societies have stated that exclusions are no longer necessary, given advancements in technology for detecting infectious diseases in blood.
Sarah Warbelow from the Human Rights Campaign claims, “Current and former blood donation policies made unfounded assumptions about gay and bisexual men and really entangled individuals’ identity with their likelihood of having HIV.”
The lifetime ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men was put into effect during the early 1980s AIDS epidemic. In 2015, the ban was lifted to a one-year abstinence requirement, which was shortened to three months in 2020 due to a drop in donations during the COVID-19 pandemic, AP notes.
All potential donors must answer questions regarding their sexual history, drug use, tattoos, and piercings, among other factors that could contribute to the spread of infections. All donated blood undergoes testing for HIV, hepatitis C, syphilis, and other diseases.
Under the proposed guidelines, men who have sex with men will be asked about new or multiple partners in the last three months and, if they answer yes and report having anal sex, will be temporarily barred from donating. Women who have sex with gay or bisexual men would also fall under this policy.
Individuals who have tested positive for HIV or are taking PrEP pills to prevent HIV transmission are still ineligible to donate blood. The FDA notes that PrEP can delay the detection of the virus in screening tests and requires a three-month waiting period after the last dose.
FDA regulators will accept public comments for 60 days before finalizing the guidelines.
“Current and former blood donation policies made unfounded assumptions about gay and bisexual men,” said Sarah Warbelow of the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group.
