“Modernization of the policy is essential to ensure that the blood supply remains as safe as possible while maximizing the donor pool,” David said. It is unacceptable for this bias to be the basis for determining eligibility to donate blood. This work centers on the need for a blood donation policy that reflects current science and an assessment of individual risk, rather than the sexual orientation or gender identity of the prospective donor.īut under the guidelines announced at the beginning of April, a person can give blood days after having unprotected sex, while a gay or bi+ man who has had sex with another man within three months of the date they would like to donate blood - even with condoms and taking HIV prevention medicine such as PrEP - cannot. House and Senate, as well as our coalition partners, to advocate for changes to the policy. These actions include holding meetings with the American Red Cross and the American Association of Blood Banks, working with and calling on presidential administrations to support changes to the so-called blood ban and partnering with members of the U.S. “Continuing to enforce the de facto prohibition on blood donation by sexually active gay and bisexual men does not reflect the best science available.”įor decades, HRC has been advocating to bring an end to this policy, and has undertaken a variety of actions around this advocacy since the 1980s. “As the global pandemic wears on, the integrity and safety of the blood supply in this country must be preserved, strengthened and maintained,” said HRC President Alphonso David. We are not yet there with equality in the rules surrounding blood donations, and won’t be until the policy treats all potential donors based on the actual risk their blood poses to the blood supply rather than who they are. While this FDA announcement is a step in the right direction, it’s still not enough. In early April, the FDA announced that it was revising those restrictions again to shorten the period of time it requires men who have sex with men to remain abstinent before donating blood. Food and Drug Administration has long had in place varying restrictions around how and when men who have sex with men can donate blood. is facing during the COVID-19 global pandemic is a shortage of blood donors. Read more articles from the Spring 2020 issue at hrc.org/magazine.
The Human Rights Campaign's Equality magazine, the nation's largest-circulation LGBTQ magazine, is going digital-only for the first time.