US proposes to ease blood donor restrictions on gay and bisexual men

1 year ago 96

The US Food and Drug Administration has projected that humor donor assessments measurement idiosyncratic hazard and bash not exclude radical based connected their intersexual predisposition oregon gender

Health 30 January 2023

By Grace Wade

On 27 January, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) projected caller rules that would marque it easier for cheery and bisexual men to donate blood. The proposed guidelines are akin to those successful countries specified arsenic the UK and Canada – they urge screening humor donors based connected the benignant of intersexual enactment they prosecute in, not their sex oregon intersexual orientation.

All donated humor is screened for pathogens, but these tests cannot accurately observe HIV oregon hepatitis infections until a few weeks to a fewer months aft exposure. Men who person enactment with men are astatine a greater hazard of contracting HIV and hepatitis, truthful they person traditionally been restricted from donating humor successful the US.

Currently, men cannot donate blood successful the US if they person had enactment with a antheral during the erstwhile 3 months. And, anyone who has had enactment successful the past 3 months with a antheral who engages successful intersexual enactment with different men is besides barred from donating. As such, men successful monogamous relationships with different men cannot donate blood, adjacent though their hazard of having HIV is overmuch little than that of men with aggregate partners.

Now, the FDA has projected that men who person enactment with men tin donate humor truthful agelong arsenic they person not engaged successful anal enactment with a caller oregon aggregate partners successful the erstwhile 3 months. The determination is based connected findings from the FDA’s ADVANCE study, which investigated however the impacts of changing the guidelines – the results suggest these changes won’t compromise the safety of the humor supply. Instead, nary one, careless of their gender, tin donate humor if they study having a caller oregon aggregate intersexual partners and person engaged successful anal enactment successful the erstwhile 3 months.

“That has to bash with the hazard of exchanging humor during vaginal intercourse versus anal intercourse,” said Peter Marks astatine the FDA during a property conference. “Anal enactment is associated with a higher hazard of exchanging blood.”

The guidance would inactive use to radical who usage condoms during anal sex, said Marks.

The connection would besides barroom humor donations from radical taking HIV prevention medications specified arsenic pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). While these trim the hazard of contracting HIV, Marks said radical utilizing the drugs person greater incidences of HIV compared with the wide population.

“Until we tin amended benignant retired who is astatine little hazard successful that radical taking PrEP, we request to enactment this donor deferral successful place,” helium said. “That’s not to accidental we won’t proceed to look astatine this and effort to refine the guidelines further.”

The nationalist has 60 days to remark connected the guidelines, aft which the FDA whitethorn revise the guidance earlier finalising it. Once final, it shouldn’t instrumentality agelong for humor donation centres to update their screening questionnaires, said Marks.

A spokesperson for the American Red Cross said the organisation “is pleased the FDA has projected to find humor donor-eligibility utilizing a gender-inclusive, idiosyncratic risk-based appraisal careless of intersexual orientation”.

“Donating humor is 1 of respective important symbolic methods of demonstrating one’s caring for different people,” said FDA commissioner Robert Califf astatine the property conference. “So, we privation to marque that disposable to everyone imaginable successful the discourse of harmless humor supplies.”

“LGBTQ+ advocates and different wellness advocator leaders person worked for decades to unit the FDA and different regulatory agencies to update argumentation and determination toward adopting an attack rooted successful science, not successful identity,” said Kelley Robinson astatine the Human Rights Campaign successful a statement. Robinson said that this “represents an important archetypal measurement toward dismantling an antiquated and discriminatory humor donation argumentation that restricts gay, bisexual, and different men who person enactment with men from donating blood”.

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