Restrictions on donating blood date back to the early days of the AIDS epidemic and were designed to protect the blood supply from HIV.Īt first, gay and bisexual men were completely prohibited from donating blood. The 40-year-old restrictions were to protect the blood supply from HIV While the number of people eligible to donate blood has expanded, the agency said it will continue to monitor the safety of the blood supply. Previously, FDA guidelines for donating blood - which were last updated in 2020 - stated that men who have sex with men are allowed to donate blood after a three-month deferral period in which they refrain from having sex with another man. With the updated guidelines, most gay and bisexual men who are in a monogamous relationship with a man will no longer have to refrain from sex in order to donate blood. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in the release. "The implementation of these recommendations will represent a significant milestone for the agency and the LGBTQI+ community," Dr. ![]() ![]() Those who have had anal sex with a new sexual partner, or more than one sexual partner, within the last three months would be asked to wait to donate blood. In a news release, the federal agency said it will recommend a series of "individual risk-based questions" that will be the same for every blood donor, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender or sex. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Thursday it had officially eliminated restrictions that had previously prohibited many blood donations by gay and bisexual men - a longstanding policy that critics say is discriminatory.
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