June 1, 2023 The Newspaper Serving LGBT Los Angeles

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Moves to Ease Restrictions on Blood Donations from Gay and Bisexual Men

The City of West Hollywood is getting the word out that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued proposed guidance in late January 2023 to ease restrictions on blood donations by men who have sex with men. Restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, as well as other groups considered to be at high risk for HIV/AIDS, date back to the early 1980s.

The FDA “donor deferral policy” for men who have sex with men (MSM) prohibits them from donating blood for three months following their most recent sexual contact. The new proposed policy would eliminate the time-based restrictions on men who have sex with men (and their female partners) and, instead, screen potential donor eligibility based on a series of questions that assess HIV risk, regardless of gender. Anyone taking medications to treat or prevent HIV, including PrEP, would not be eligible.

The new proposed guidelines are anticipated to go into effect after a public comment period of 60 days. The FDA will then review those comments and issue a final ruling, expected later this year. For more details and to submit comments, visit the FDA website.

“While this is nowhere near the victory that the LGBTQ community has been fighting for, the FDA proposed guidance is a step in the right direction,” said City of West Hollywood Mayor Pro Tempore John M. Erickson. “For decades, there have been discriminatory blanket restrictions on who can give blood. These policies are still in effect and to this day they still discriminate against LGBTQ people. Leading medical groups, such as the American Medical Association have said these exclusions are unnecessary given advances in testing blood for infectious disease pathogens. I urge community members to provide comment to the FDA. Our blood supply should be guided by a science-based approach that supports people in donating, instead of furthering stigma and turning people away. I’m proud that West Hollywood has been on record for years urging the FDA to update its blood donor guidelines, especially with our involvement with the ADVANCE study that led to part of these changes. Finally, we’re beginning to see movement on this issue.”

For many years, the FDA banned any man who had sex with another man once since 1977 from donating blood. These discriminatory policies were adopted in 1983 in direct response to the HIV/AIDS crisis of the time. In 2006, the American Red Cross, America’s Blood Centers, and the American Association of Blood Banks reported to the FDA that this ban was medically and scientifically unwarranted, but it remained in place. In 2015, the policy was finally reduced from an indefinite deferral period to a 12-month deferral. The policy was further reduced to three months in April 2020 to address the urgent and immediate need for blood during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021 and 2022, the City of West Hollywood participated in community outreach for the ADVANCE Study (“Assessing Donor Variability And New Concepts in Eligibility”), a pilot study aimed at research and collaboration to make blood donation a more inclusive process while maintaining the safety of the blood supply. Study enrollment concluded on September 30, 2022 and researchers from the participating blood centers – Vitalant, OneBlood, and the American Red Cross – continue to share study data with the FDA. For more information about the ADVANCE Study, please visit https://advancestudy.org.

For more information, please contact Hernán Molina, the City of West Hollywood’s Governmental Affairs Liaison, at (323) 848-6364 or at hmolina@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, please call TTY (323) 848-6496.

in NEWS
Related Posts

LA Pride Announces Three Grand Marshals For The 2023 LA Pride Parade

May 25, 2023

May 25, 2023

Comedian Margaret Cho, Actor Leslie JordanThe ACLU Named As Grand Marshalls Christopher Street West Association (CSW), the esteemed 501(c)3 nonprofit...

The Dodgers Reinstate LGBTQ+ Group’s Invitation and Honor At Dodger Pride Night

May 25, 2023

May 25, 2023

The Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence Accepted The Baseball Team’s Apology By Dolores Quintana This morning, The Los Angeles Dodgers issued...

Disneyland Welcomes Official ‘Pride Nite’

April 28, 2023

April 28, 2023

Part Of The Park’s Disneyland After Dark Series Of Events By Susan Payne Disneyland is holding its first official LGBTQ...

Latino Equality Alliances Awards $20,000 To College-Bound Students

April 28, 2023

April 28, 2023

Eight Scholarships Went To Low-Income LGBTQ+ Scholars By Susan Payne Throughout the nation, LGBTQ+ and trans rights are being challenged...

Drag March Rally in Weho Amasses Thousands

April 28, 2023

April 28, 2023

Inclusivity and Diversity Take Center Stage at Weho’s Drag March, Drawing Thousands to the Streets By Susan Payne Santa Monica...

Coalition of Faith Communities Stand Against Anti-Transgender Agenda

April 14, 2023

April 14, 2023

By Susan Payne At an All Saints Church in Pasadena lrecently, a coalition of faith communities discussed concerns about a...

Ricky Martin presents 2023 GLAAD Vanguard Award to Bad Bunny

April 14, 2023

April 14, 2023

By Susan Payne During the GLAAD Media Awards this spring, Bad Bunny was honored with the Vanguard Award presented by...

Timothy Dean Family Seeks Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Ed Buck

April 14, 2023

April 14, 2023

By Susan Payne Judgment before trail is at request of the three sisters of Timothy Dean, who died in the...

Food, Music, and Philanthropy: Taste of Home Festival Hits Los Angeles on April 29th

April 13, 2023

April 13, 2023

Food festival planned for April 29 in Hollywood The Taste of Home Festival offers a unique experience that goes beyond...

Los Angeles LGBT Center Hosts Drag March in Protest of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation

April 6, 2023

April 6, 2023

Over 1,000 Angelenos to rally for rights on Easter Sunday Los Angeles, April 04 – The Los Angeles LGBT Center...

WeHo ‘Rainbow Mile’ Runners Amass 20K in Marathon

April 2, 2023

April 2, 2023

By Susan Payne Nearly 20,000 runners gathered in West Hollywood for the 28th Annual Los Angeles Marathon, referred to as...

Outed MMA Fighter Jeff Molina Comes out as Bisexual

April 2, 2023

April 2, 2023

By Susan Payne UFC bantamweight Jeff Molina, known as “El Jefe,” in the octagon, was outed on social media and...

House Digest Reports Best LGBTQ+ Friendly Cities in California

April 2, 2023

April 2, 2023

By Susan Payne California, with its exceptionally high LGBTQ+ populations and progressive economic, educational and social policies, was rated by...

High-Profile Prosecutor Jonathan Hatami Enters Race for Los Angeles District Attorney

March 31, 2023

March 31, 2023

Hatami, a prosecutor in the Complex Child Abuse Unit at the Hall of Justice in downtown LA, has been vocal...

Long Beach Businesses with LGBTQ Flags Vandalized

March 24, 2023

March 24, 2023

By Susan Payne Three businesses in Long Beach have reported windows smashed in with one common denominator: visible LGBTQ symbols. ...