“Our goal is to remove the current waiting period specific to men who have sex with men and use sexual behaviour-based screening for all donors, in all our locations and for all blood products,” Lewis said. Right now in the U.S., gay and bisexual men (often referred to as MSM, or men who have sex with men) are not allowed to give blood if they’ve had sex with another man in the past three months. People who have had the same sexual partner for at least three months are able to donate, no matter their orientation.Ĭanadian Blood Services would not say what precisely their new screening criteria will be, but is promising to make their submission by the end of the year. Citing the public health emergency caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released new guidelines today - without prior public comment - for allowing gay men, sex workers, and drug users, among others, to donate blood for inclusion in the U.S. According to the Food and Drug Administration, this pre-screening eliminates up to 90 percent of donors who may be carrying a blood-borne disease. sees all donors, regardless of sexual orientation, asked if they had sex and, if so, about recent sexual behaviours. LGBTQ advocates have been asking the FDA to change its blood donation policies for gay and bi men, and it finally did so thanks to that pressure as well as to the coronavirus pandemic leading to a. In December 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) moved from a lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood to a deferral of one year for any man who has had sex with another man during the past 12 months.
In June, the United Kingdom implemented a behaviour-based policy that will allow gay, bisexual and MSM to be able to donate blood, plasma and platelets without a deferral period.
Various countries have dropped or changed their screening criteria for blood donation in recent years, including Italy, Portugal and Mexico. And, in 2014, all blood that is donated is tested thoroughly, so the chances of getting blood that is HIV-positive is so minuscule that it’s rendered the ban on certain men’s donations archaic.
Canadian Blood Services under strain as eased COVID-19 rules increase demand