Gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships will soon be able to donate blood without abstaining from sex under new federal guidelines, parting from a long-standing policy that barred men who are currently having sex with men from donating that has been in place since the early days of the AIDS crisis.
The Food and Drug Administration has proposed instead revising the donor history questionnaire to vet if a prospective blood donor has had new or multiple sexual partners in the past three months, allowing men who have sex with men and women who have sex with bisexual men to donate if they do not report any new sexual partners within that period.
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“Maintaining a safe and adequate supply of blood and blood products in the U.S. is paramount for the FDA, and this proposal for an individual risk assessment, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, will enable us to continue using the best science to do so,” said FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf.
People who have had anal sex in the past three months, tested positive for HIV, are taking HIV medication, exchanged sex for money or drugs, or have a history of non-prescription injection drug use would not be allowed to donate blood under the new guidance.
The proposed guidance would require all blood donors to answer the same set of questions, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. In addition to the screening process, donated blood undergoes a series of tests to determine the presence of HIV, hepatitis, and other blood-borne diseases. Canada and the United Kingdom have already removed similar restrictions.
The FDA has slowly been easing blood donation restrictions on gay and bisexual men in the past decade. In 2015, the agency lifted a lifetime ban on men who have sex with men that was put in place in the 1980s during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, allowing those who have not had sex with another man within the last year to donate.
Most recently, the agency reduced the abstinence period from 12 months down to three months in 2020 amid blood shortages during the pandemic. The agency has said this policy has eliminated 90% of blood donors carrying a blood-borne disease, including HIV, as many infections would be apparent within that time.
The American Red Cross, American Medical Association, Human Rights Campaign, and other organizations have urged the FDA to change their blood donation policies, arguing it is discriminatory toward gay and bisexual men.
The announcement comes as blood supplies across the country remain critically low. Approximately 22% of community blood centers across the country have one-day supply or less as of Friday, according to America’s Blood Centers.
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The proposed guidance will be open for public comment for 60 days, before it is finalized by the agency and implemented at blood centers nationwide.
