The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated its blood donation guidelines to allow more gay and bisexual men to give blood without abstaining from sex. The new policy, which was finalized on Thursday, is based on individual risk assessment and aligns with other countries.
The FDA said it will recommend a series of “individual risk-based questions” that will be the same for every blood donor, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender or sex. Those who have had anal sex with a new partner, or more than one partner, within the last three months would be asked to wait to donate blood.
“The FDA has worked diligently to evaluate our policies and ensure we had the scientific evidence to support individual risk assessment for donor eligibility while maintaining appropriate safeguards to protect recipients of blood products. The implementation of these recommendations will represent a significant milestone for the agency and the LGBTQI+ community,” said Peter Marks, M.D., PhD., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “The FDA is committed to working closely with the blood collection industry to help ensure timely implementation of the new recommendations and we will continue to monitor the safety of the blood supply once this individual risk-based approach is in place.”
With the updated guidelines, most gay and bisexual men who are in a monogamous relationship with a man will no longer have to refrain from sex in order to donate blood. Previously, FDA guidelines stated that men who have sex with men are allowed to donate blood after a three-month deferral period in which they refrain from having sex with another man.
The new policy reflects the latest scientific evidence and is in line with rules in the UK and Canada. It is also the latest move by the FDA to broaden donor eligibility, with the potential to boost donations.
Gay rights groups have long opposed blanket restrictions on who can give blood, saying they discriminate. Medical societies including the American Medical Association have said exclusions are unnecessary given advances in blood testing.
The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, called Thursday’s announcement “a real step forward”, adding that more “can and must be done so that people taking PrEP can donate as well”. PrEP is a medication that can prevent HIV infection through sexual contact, but can delay the detection of the virus in screening tests.
The FDA sets requirements and procedures for US blood banks. All potential donors answer questions about sexual history, injectable drug use, and recent tattoos or piercings, among other factors that can contribute to the spread of blood-borne infections.
Reference：
- New Rules Allow More Gay Men to Donate Blood in the U.S. | Time | May 11, 2023
- FDA Begins Allowing More Gay, Bisexual Men to Donate Blood | The Wall Street Journal | May 11, 2023
- Gay, bisexual men in monogamous relationships can donate blood under new FDA policy | USA Today | May 11, 2023
- FDA Finalizes Move to Recommend Individual Risk Assessment to Determine Eligibility for Blood Donations | FDA | May 11, 2023