FDA Uploads Ban on Gay Men Giving Blood

According to the Associated Press, the government upheld a 1983 prohibition seeking to ban any and all gay men from donating blood. This ban was set into place in 1983 to help to prevent the spread of HIV through blood transfusions. The policy was officially upheld Wednesday May 23, 2007 on the Food and Drug Administration website. A year previously, the Red Cross criticized the policy, citing it as not medically or scientifically sound.

Dr. Celso Bianco, executive Vice President of America's blood centers, expressed his own disappointment with the FDA's decision. Members of America's blood centers supply just about half of the nation's blood.

Since 1977, every man who has tried to give blood has been asked if he has ever had sex with another male, even if they only had sex one time. If the man answers 'yes' he is thereby banned from ever giving blood again. The reason for this is that the FDA sees these men as potentially having a higher chance of carrying and therefore transmitting the HIV virus through their blood donation.

The Red Cross, the International Blood Association, and the America's Blood Centers suggested replacing the lifetime ban with a ban of only a year after male to male sexual contact has taken place. Technology can identify an HIV infection 10 to 21 days after a person has been infected, so some people feel that the lifetime ban is not necessary.

Also posted on Wednesday was a response from the FDA stating that they will consider changing this lifetime ban policy if they are given reputable evidence that by changing the policy there will be no higher risk of infection to blood recipients. HIV tests that now circulate are very accurate in detecting the virus, but are still not 100% accurate, which is one factor that frightens the FDA. The chance of contracting HIV from receiving blood is now about 1 in 2 million.

Blood centers (such as the Red Cross and America's Blood Centers) are not happy with this policy because it bans potentially healthy blood donors, and the need for blood in the United States is always high. They say it also blatantly discriminates against homosexuals. The Associated Press reports that the FDA denies the fact that it is discriminatory towards gays, stating that anyone who has ever been paid for sex or who has used intravenous drugs cannot donate blood either.

Associated Press, "Banned for Life: Gay Men Still Can't Donate Blood." MSNBC NEWS. URL: (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18827137/)