Health
FDA to allow gay men in monogamous relationships to donate blood
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- The FDA is reportedly set to ease blood donation restrictions on men who have sex with men.
- According to The Washington Post, the agency is set to announce changes in the coming days.
- Gay and bisexual men who are in monogamous relationships will soon be able to give blood.
The Food and Drug Administration is set to relax blood donation restrictions for gay and bisexual men after years of barring many of them from giving blood, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
An unnamed official familiar with the matter told the outlet that queer men in monogamous relationships will soon be able to donate blood, even if they haven’t abstained from sex for several months, ending a decades-long policy born of the AIDS crisis.
The anticipated easing comes as blood banks and LGBT organizations have pushed for a more equal policy in recent years, with the American Medical Association calling the ban “discriminatory” in January 2022.
The anonymous source told The Post the new limitations are meant to keep the blood supply free of HIV by focusing more stringently on sexual behavior as opposed to a person’s gender or orientation.
The FDA eased restrictions in April 2020, soon after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing men who have sex with men to donate blood as long as they had abstained from sex with other men for three months, citing an “urgent and immediate need for blood.” The 2020 update overrode a 2015 amendment that limited donations to men who hadn’t had sex with a man for a year.
Men who are now eligible to donate blood will likely have to wait until the end of 2023 to do so, according to The Post, as the FDA makes final changes after a period of public comment.
Despite media reports on the likely changes, some LGBT advocates are waiting to celebrate until they see the new guidance themselves.
Cole Williams, 22, a nursing and political science student at the University of Cincinnati and the founder of Pride and Plasma, said he would welcome any decreases in discriminatory policies but hoped changes would focus on more individualized risks, including the type of sex in which donors are engaging instead of a blanket adjustment to the existing gendered policy.
“Any step forward with less restrictive policies is a win,” he said. “But I don’t expect the policy will be completely gone away.”
“HIV is not a disease that only targets the queer community and queer men. Anyone can have it,” Williams added. “So saying a heterosexual individual is completely free from the risk while all queer people are subject to high risk, that’s just not accurate science.”
Source: The Washington Post
Redrag
January 27, 2023 at 7:57 am
That donated blood should only go to gay men and no other. There are restrictions so items are not spread like Aids. They can keep that within their group.
Linn
January 30, 2023 at 7:16 pm
One MORE reason why I will accept death before a blood transfusion these days.
We all must die. I believe the soul lives on, though (not a religious thing but a scientific and spiritual thing). Would rather lose my body than compromise my soul by choosing to damage the body in horrible and unexpected ways just to keep it a while longer.
The arrogant dishonesty of peddling that HIV is “anyone’s” disease and that gay people, as a group, can be relied upon to be honest in their medical accountability, is breathtaking. It’s this sort of self-inflicted harm to the reputation of the gay community that turns even people like me sour on the whole acceptance movement.
The term “gay mafia” applies here. When the gay community claims the right to put other people’s lives at risk so they don’t have to take responsibility for their own behavior, they really are a sort of mafia. Sorry, but I don’t support mafias of any sort.
And no need to respond with vitriol about “hoping I die”, etc. I’m completely disinterested in the opinions of the mob. I’d rather see the haters spend their energy to hold a huge intervention with the gay community to get them to face up to their questionable behavior and dishonesty with themselves (as a group) instead of berating the rest of us to accept their dishonesty – potentially at the expense of our health and congruence with our own values.
Linn
January 30, 2023 at 7:22 pm
And NO, I do NOT hate or fear gay people. I hate and fear lies, self-deception and lack of responsibility, especially when they put others in harm’s way. It’s this sort of “harmful values and behavior” infection running rampant in the gay community that puts me off. Forgive me for not buying that being gay or queer automatically makes one a persecuted saint.
Mike Tracy
January 27, 2023 at 10:11 am
It all just goes to show how easily the FDA is bought off. Thoroughly disgusting!. Our government has become contaminated with queer mentality. Our public schools are contaminated with queer ideals. Now, our blood banks become contaminated with queer diseases. William’s mentality is a queer’s vacant logic. He says heterosexuals can get aids too. Well, that’s correct, but it’s always connected somewhere in the past with bisexuals or hypodermic drug use from shared needles with infected sources. Queers blood is already contaminated with mental disorders besides all the other diseases connected to their disgusting perverted behavior. Blood from anybody with disorders of any kind should never be put in blood banks and especially never be injected into somebody elses body.
harrison burnell
January 30, 2023 at 7:02 pm
between contaminated this or contaminated that how do you want your aids served? with mrna spike protein and metal on the side or straight up on a promise the blood was from a faithful degenerate? the country and all it’s bullshit agencies need to go….not just the fbi doj irs hls ….all of em
Steve S
January 30, 2023 at 6:46 pm
Mike T, you’re a hateful cus!
“Queers blood is already contaminated with mental disorders besides all the other diseases connected to their disgusting perverted behavior.”
I’ll tell you this–I’d much rather have a beer with a gay guy than with someone as hateful as you. Actually, I’ve had beers with gay guys, and I’ve never had to have a beer with you, so I’ll chalk that up as “Life goal–ACHIEVED!”
Slick head
January 30, 2023 at 7:06 pm
Mike T is spot on, he speaks the truth! You are delusional!
Jeff
January 30, 2023 at 9:19 pm
Good for you. You drink beer with f a g s. That has nothing to do with gay blood. Have another gay beer.
john
January 30, 2023 at 6:55 pm
Isn’t a gat man in a monogamous relationships an oxymoron?
Andrew
January 30, 2023 at 9:14 pm
I will refuse blood transfusions. I would rather die of loss of blood than to have a gay person’s blood inside me. This is disgusting and dangerous. I will not participate.
Steve S
January 30, 2023 at 11:06 pm
Promises, promises…
CharlieSeattle
January 31, 2023 at 5:30 pm
Modern Medicine finding better ways for Mass Stealth Genocide.
tj
February 1, 2023 at 9:06 am
I would openly accept gay men whether monogmous or other relationship as long as they are not taking ANY ANTI VIRUS medication or treatment to donate blood or plasma.