![can gay men donate blood in alabama can gay men donate blood in alabama](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-aANg_kdHtkQ/TI3kT3lN9mI/AAAAAAAAGDw/EN5vhzSMplw/s512/Karate%252520Pepi%252520Blumenau%252520SC%252520dandee.com.br%252520%252528137%252529.jpg)
![can gay men donate blood in alabama can gay men donate blood in alabama](https://i1.wp.com/www.theguitarlearner.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/august-rush-robin-williams-freddie-highmore.jpg)
The newest blood testing technology is able to narrow the period when the HIV virus might not show up in the sample of a donor who had been infected with HIV to just nine days. Kelsey Louie of GMHC (formerly Gay Men’s Health Crisis) said the FDA rule “ignores the modern science of HIV-testing technology while perpetuating the stereotype that all gay and bisexual men are inherently dangerous,” the Times reported this week.ĭavid Stacy of LGBT advocacy organization Human Rights Campaign said the new policy prevents men from donating blood “based solely on their sexual orientation rather than actual risk to the blood supply” and “continues to stigmatize gay and bisexual men.” “That’s how policies often change- incrementally,” Cahill said.īut other LGBT and health advocacy groups have criticized the requirement of a year-long abstinence from gay sex in order for gay and bisexual men to be blood donors. Sean Cahill of the Boston-based research and advocacy center Fenway Institute called it “an important incremental step toward a better policy,” as cited by The New York Times when the FDA announced its preliminary recommendation last year. The new FDA rule is a baby step toward ending a policy that discriminates against and demeans gay and bisexual men. However, in excluding the estimated 3.8 percent of American men who report having had a male sexual partner in the past year, the increase in supply will only be half as large as it potentially could be, the institute reported. The UCLA-based Williams Institute estimates that the rules change could add about 317,000 pints of blood to the nation’s supply annually, an increase of 2 percent to 4 percent. The FDA examined a variety of recent studies, epidemiologic data, and shared experiences from other countries that have made recent MSM deferral policy changes.” These updated recommendations better align the deferral period for MSM with the deferral period for other men and women at increased risk for HIV infection-such as those who had a recent blood transfusion or those who have been accidentally exposed to the blood of another individual. In its press statement, the FDA wrote: “As part of today’s finalized blood donor deferral guidance, the FDA is changing its recommendation that men who have sex with men (MSM) be indefinitely deferred- a policy that has been in place for approximately 30 years-to 12 months since the last sexual contact with another man. However, the agency said it will continue to prohibit blood donations from men who have had sex with men during the previous 12 months. Food and Drug Administration announced earlier this week that it is lifting its three-decade-old rule prohibiting gay and bisexual from donating blood.