Gay and bisexual men soon may be able to donate blood.
The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it favors replacing a lifetime ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men with one preventing donations from men who have had sex with other men in the previous 12 months.
Following a review with other government agencies, the FDA said it put forward a new policy for blood donations in 2015.
“Following this review, and taking into account the recommendations of advisory committees to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the FDA, the agency will take the necessary steps to recommend a change to the blood donor deferral period for men who have sex with men from indefinite deferral to one year since the last sexual contact,” FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said.
Changing the 31-year-old policy many say is no longer justified would put the United States in line with policies similar to those of Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom.
The ban is from the early years of the AIDS crisis. Medical groups such as the American Medical Association say the policy is no longer necessary because of advances in HIV testing. Gay activists say the ban is discriminatory and advances negative stereotypes against gay and bisexual men.
A panel of blood safety experts created in November by the Department of Health and Human Services voted 16-2 in favor of doing away with the ban, a switch from a 2010 vote by the same experts who upheld it.
