FDA To Ease Ban On Gay Men Donating Blood

The Associated Press reports:

Gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships will no longer be forced to abstain from sex to donate blood under federal guidelines to be proposed in coming days, ending a vestige of the earliest days of the AIDS crisis.

The planned relaxation of restrictions by the Food and Drug Administration follows years of pressure by blood banks, the American Medical Association and LGBT rights organizations to abandon rules some experts say are outdated, homophobic and ineffective at keeping the nation’s blood supply safe.

The new approach eliminates rules that target men who have sex with men and instead focuses on sexual behaviors by people, regardless of gender, that pose a higher risk of contracting and transmitting HIV.

Read the full article.

FDA to ease blood donation ban on gay men, allow monogamous to give https://t.co/blP1bKXTQE

— Lauren Peikoff (@laurenpeikoff) January 26, 2023