February 12, 2023
Watch: FDA Moves to Ease Rules for Blood Donations
READ TIME: 2 MIN.
The U.S. is moving to further ease restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men and other groups that typically face higher risks of HIV.
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday announced draft guidelines that would do away with the current three-month abstinence requirement for donations from men who have sex with men. Instead, all potential donors would be screened with a new questionnaire that evaluates their individual risks for HIV based on sexual behavior, recent partners and other factors.
If finalized, many gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships would be able to donate blood for the first time in decades. It's the latest move by the FDA to broaden donor eligibility, with the potential to boost donations.
"We believe that there will be no change to risk in the blood supply," FDA's Dr. Peter Marks told reporters.
Gay rights groups have long opposed blanket restrictions on who can give blood, saying they discriminate against the LGBTQ community. Medical societies including the American Medical Association have also said such exclusions are unnecessary given advances in technology to test blood for infectious diseases.
The U.S. and many other countries started blocking blood donations from gay and bisexual men during the early 1980′s AIDS epidemic, aiming to prevent the spread of HIV through the blood supply.
In 2015, the FDA dropped the lifetime ban and replaced it with a one-year abstinence requirement. Then in 2020, the agency shortened the abstinence period to three months, after donations plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regulators said there has been no negative impact on the blood supply as a results of those changes.
______
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
