The U.S. is moving to further ease restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men
to three months, after donations plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic.The FDA sets requirements and procedures for blood banks throughout the U.S. All potential donors answer questions about their sexual history, injectable drug use and any recent tattoos or piercing, among other factors that can contribute to the spread of blood-borne infections. Donated blood is then tested for HIV, hepatitis C, syphilis, and other infectious diseases.
Anyone who has ever tested positive for HIV would continue to be ineligible to donate blood. Those taking pills to prevent HIV would also still be barred, until three months after their last dose. The FDA noted that the medication, known as PrEP, can delay the detection of the virus in screening tests.
FDA regulators will take public comments on the proposal for 60 days before beginning to finalize the guidelines.The FDA based its latest proposal, in part,of 1,600 gay and bisexual men. The FDA-funded research compared the effectiveness of a detailed, personalized questionnaire on sexual behavior to the current time-based abstinence rules.
The Red Cross said it supports the FDA changes but added that it’s too early to know if they will result in more blood donations.
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