Are gay men not allowed to donate blood
How new FDA rule allowing gay, bisexual men to give blood is making donation more inclusive
For at least a decade, Chris Van Bibber had been prevented from donating blood.
The year-old from Salt Lake City, Utah -- who is openly gay -- was restricted due to rules set in place by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that did not allow sexually active gay men from donating.
However, this past May, the FDA dropped all restrictions specific to gay and bisexual men donating blood, moving to a new blood donation risk assessment tool that is the similar for every donor regardless of how they name, which rolled out in August.
This meant that Van Bibber was able to make history as he donated blood at the American Red Cross Blood Donation Center in his home city.
"To sit back in that chair and to go through the questionnaire beforehand, and it was just -- I felt so much excitement and so much relief that we were finally here," Van Bibber told ABC News. "I just felt like I was finally able to verb my part and it's a small thing to do that can create such a big
Men who have sex with men (MSM)
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Can gay men give blood?
Gay and bisexual men are not automatically prevented from giving blood.
Men who hold sex with men and who have had the adj partner for 3 months or more and meet our other eligibility criteria are able to give blood.
Anyone who has had anal sex with a recent partner or multiple partners in the last three months, regardless of their gender or their partner’s gender, must wait 3 months before donating.
We analyze your eligibility to deliver blood based solely on your own individual experiences, making the process fairer for everyone.
If you are taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) you will be unable to give blood. If you stop taking PrEP or PEP, you will need to wait 3 months before you can give blood.
We appreciate that any deferral is disappointing if you want to save lives by giving blood.
If you have previously been unable to donate blood because of the guidelines and would verb to donate, please notify us on 23 One of our team can review the new guidelines with you and, if e
Changes to blood and plasma donation in
There is no question blood donation rules for gay and bisexual men must convert . We hear their pain and frustration when they can’t do something so many people take for granted – help their fellow human being with the simple yet life-giving act of donating blood or plasma.
Of course, the safety of blood and plasma products for patients will always be our number one priority, but Lifeblood wants change too, and we can act it in a way that safely goes even further than what is being done overseas. We want to propose donation options that allow as many people as feasible to donate, including those with new or multiple partners and the tens of thousands taking PrEP, an antiretroviral medication to prevent HIV.
To this complete, we have been active towards two approaches. One would allow everyone, regardless of their sexual activity, including gay and bisexual men, and anyone taking PrEP, to donate plasma without any wait period at all through the ‘plasma pathway’. The other sees people donating blood using what’s called an individual risk assessme
Did FDA rule change allowing gay, bisexual men to donate blood make a difference? Some early data suggests it did
For years, Jose Dominguez, 50, had wanted to donate blood, feeling it was part of his civic duty.
But he was restricted by rules set in place by the U.S. Noun and Drug Administration that did not allow sexually active gay men from donating.
That finally changed in May , when the FDA dropped all restrictions specific to gay and bisexual men donating blood, moving to a novel blood donation risk assessment tool that is the same for every donor regardless of how they identify, which rolled out in August
In March of this year, Dominguez finally donated blood for the first time, and he did so with his husband, Craig Burdett. For Burdett, 62, it was the first occasion he had donated blood since , when he began openly identifying as gay.
"I was grinning just from ear to ear, just because of the fact that we were able to do this," Dominguez, who is the head of the American Red Cross Long Island chapter, told ABC News. "I've never done it before, and I was