Can gay men donate blood california
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The FDA has issued a statement saying it is “considering the possibility of pursuing alternative strategies that maintain blood safety” but needs more information before changing its policy. The Red Cross and other medical groups, such as the American Medical Association, have recommended ending the deferral period as well. France and Greece did so this week, Israel took that action in October, and authorities in Canada have recommended removing all questions about gender and sexuality from blood donor screenings. The senators’ call comes as other countries lift deferral periods on blood donations by gay and bi men. and a 62 percent decline in blood drives at schools, the Red Cross added. People with O negative blood can donate to anyone.ĭuring the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a 10 percent drop in the number of blood donors in the U.S. “At times, as much as one-quarter of hospital blood needs are not being met.” Type O is particularly needed, according to the Red Cross. “In recent weeks, the Red Cross had less than a one-day supply of critical blood types and has had to limit blood product distributions to hospitals,” the organization said in a press release. Other blood-banking organizations have made this declaration as well. The Red Cross declared a national blood shortage Tuesday, the first time it has ever done so. These LGBTQ-related laws went into effect in California Jan. Instead of the current categorical deferral guidelines, we must adopt evidence-based policies focused on assessment of an individual’s risk, not inaccurate and antiquated stereotypes.”
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And further, with increased uptake of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), which significantly reduces the likelihood that an HIV-negative individual will acquire HIV, many more gay and bisexual men are aware of their HIV status and are taking steps to eliminate their personal risk. “Given advances in blood screening and safety technology, a time-based policy for gay and bisexual men is not scientifically sound, continues to effectively exclude an entire group of people, and does not meet the urgent demands of the moment. “Any policy that continues to categorically single out the LGBTQ+ community is discriminatory and wrong,” they wrote. The letter from the senators, like statements made by LGBTQ+ activists previously, argues for a blood donation policy that focuses on individual donors’ behavior rather than singling out a group of people for their identity. “But it’s not three months - it’s more like about 10 days.” So there’s a scientific rationale for saying, ‘Well, if there’s risk, there needs to be a delay,’” Benjamin said. “If you are infected with HIV, for the first one to two weeks you will test negative.
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But that’s still too long, Richard Benjamin, former chief medical officer at the American Red Cross, told NBC News. In 2020, the abstinence period was shortened to three months. In 2015, the FDA began allowing gay and bi men to donate blood if they had abstained from sex for a year. Since then, technology has been developed to screen blood for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. barred men who have sex with men from ever donating blood in 1983. In 1983, early in the AIDS crisis, the U.S. Injectable PrEP to combat HIV approved by FDA The letter is addressed to Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock.