Dive Brief:
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says men who have sex with men can now donate blood 12 months after their last sexual contact with another man, overturning the agency's 30-year ban prohibiting men who have sex with men from donating blood.
- The policy reversal was based on research which shows an indefinite ban is not necessary to prevent HIV transmission. Other countries such as the UK, Australia, and New Zealand also have 12-month deferment periods.
- However, men who have sex with men rights advocates say the new policy remains discriminatory. Jared Polis, co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus and Democratic congressman said, "It is ridiculous and counter to the public health that a married gay man in a monogamous relationship can't give blood, but a promiscuous straight man who has had hundreds of opposite sex partners in the last year can."
Dive Insight:
The FDA says it used scientific evidence to support the policy revision. When Australia changed its policy to a 12-month deferral, studies evaluated eight million units of donated blood using a national blood surveillance system. "These published studies document no change in risk to the blood supply with use of the 12-month deferral. Similar data are not available for shorter deferral intervals," said the FDA.
A safety monitoring system has been put in place for the blood supply, which the agency expects to provide "critical information" to inform future blood donor policies. Dr. Stephen Ostroff, FDA's acting commissioner, said, "We have taken great care to ensure this policy revision is backed by sound science and continues to protect our blood supply."
The FDA said its policies have assisted in reducing HIV transmission rates from blood transfusions from 1 in 2,500 to 1 in 1.47 million.
The changes were first proposed in May and received 700 public comments, of which about half recommended keeping the ban in place.
The World Health Organization made a recommendation in October that anyone infected with HIV should start antiretroviral treatment as soon as possible after diagnosis, as previously reported by Healthcare Dive. Providing ART treatment to all infected with HIV can help avert 21 million AIDS-related deaths and 28 million new infections by 2030, according to the WHO.