For the first time in 31 years, gay and bisexual men may be allowed to donate blood.
A U.S. advisory panel voted Thursday in favor of rolling back the decades-old restrictions. Panic over AIDS in the 1980s led to the initial rule.
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The American Red Cross opposes the law, saying the extremely small risk of infection, thanks partly to new technology, does not outweigh their need for blood donations.
The proposed changed would allow gay men to donate blood after abstaining from sex for one year. People other than gay men who have had sexual contact with someone with HIV or viral hepatitis can already donate blood after a year-long wait.
From Bloomberg News:
The risk of getting HIV from a blood transfusion is about one per 2 million units of blood transfused, according to the FDA’s website. If the ban was completely eliminated, 360,600 men would probably donate 615,300 additional pints of blood a year, which could be used to help 1.8 million people, according to a study in September from the University of California at Los Angeles.
It now remains to be seen whether the FDA takes up the panel’s proposal.
