5/11/2023: 11:30am EST
On 5/11/23, the FDA released updated guidelines, an approval of the previous draft released on 1/27/23. The new rules remove not only all gendered language from the blood donation deferral criteria, but completely remove the MSM (men who have sex with men) provision, what we at Pride and Plasma refer to as “the Queer Blood Ban”.
This policy, when put in place in 1985, was intended to prevent widespread transmission of HIV through the nation’s blood supply. The science and medical practices of the 1980s are no longer the same. Discrimination has no place in healthcare. The lifetime, and subsequent 12-month, and 3-month policies, turned away an entire demographic of healthy donors from the lifesaving action of giving blood.
These policies, although intended for queer men, frequently were applied to Transgender Women and Non-binary donors who were assigned male at birth. The removal of the MSM deferral period will increase eligibility for these members of the queer community.
For the first time since 1985, queer men in monogamous relationships will be eligible to give blood. Queer men who participate in oral sexual activity will not be penalized for it, which has a significantly lower risk of HIV transmission compared to other forms of sexual activity.
Although we are grateful that the FDA has chosen to listen to stakeholders, experts, other countries, and the science of blood donation, this policy should not have taken 38 years to end. We should not have to fight this hard to do something as selfless as giving blood. Donors with multiple partners may still be impacted by this policy. We thank the efforts of the National Gay Blood Drive, which was instrumental in decreasing the lifetime ban to 12-months, as well as the ADVANCE Study, which conducted research on a transition to an individual risk assessment for queer donors. AABB has already created a new donor questionnaire, which we hope will expedite the implementation of the new guidance. However, the fight for equality in health care and donation is far from over.
The FDA still upholds a 5-year deferral policy for the tissue donations from queer men. Even if an individual is a registered organ donor, the tissue donations will be rejected if he has had sex with another man in the past 5 years. The policy was put in place in 1994, was expanded to include anonymous sperm donation in 2004, and was upheld in 2007. Since then, the FDA has not touched the policy. Pride and Plasma will continue to fight to end this policy, just as we did with blood donation.
Thank you to everyone who donated, signed a petition, submitted a public comment, talked about the issue, shared a post, and supported us along the way. We could not have done it without you. Now- roll up those sleeves and get ready to give blood. We’ll be right there with you.
In solidarity,
Pride and Plasma
On 5/11/23, the FDA released updated guidelines, an approval of the previous draft released on 1/27/23. The new rules remove not only all gendered language from the blood donation deferral criteria, but completely remove the MSM (men who have sex with men) provision, what we at Pride and Plasma refer to as “the Queer Blood Ban”.
This policy, when put in place in 1985, was intended to prevent widespread transmission of HIV through the nation’s blood supply. The science and medical practices of the 1980s are no longer the same. Discrimination has no place in healthcare. The lifetime, and subsequent 12-month, and 3-month policies, turned away an entire demographic of healthy donors from the lifesaving action of giving blood.
These policies, although intended for queer men, frequently were applied to Transgender Women and Non-binary donors who were assigned male at birth. The removal of the MSM deferral period will increase eligibility for these members of the queer community.
For the first time since 1985, queer men in monogamous relationships will be eligible to give blood. Queer men who participate in oral sexual activity will not be penalized for it, which has a significantly lower risk of HIV transmission compared to other forms of sexual activity.
Although we are grateful that the FDA has chosen to listen to stakeholders, experts, other countries, and the science of blood donation, this policy should not have taken 38 years to end. We should not have to fight this hard to do something as selfless as giving blood. Donors with multiple partners may still be impacted by this policy. We thank the efforts of the National Gay Blood Drive, which was instrumental in decreasing the lifetime ban to 12-months, as well as the ADVANCE Study, which conducted research on a transition to an individual risk assessment for queer donors. AABB has already created a new donor questionnaire, which we hope will expedite the implementation of the new guidance. However, the fight for equality in health care and donation is far from over.
The FDA still upholds a 5-year deferral policy for the tissue donations from queer men. Even if an individual is a registered organ donor, the tissue donations will be rejected if he has had sex with another man in the past 5 years. The policy was put in place in 1994, was expanded to include anonymous sperm donation in 2004, and was upheld in 2007. Since then, the FDA has not touched the policy. Pride and Plasma will continue to fight to end this policy, just as we did with blood donation.
Thank you to everyone who donated, signed a petition, submitted a public comment, talked about the issue, shared a post, and supported us along the way. We could not have done it without you. Now- roll up those sleeves and get ready to give blood. We’ll be right there with you.
In solidarity,
Pride and Plasma