Updated guidelines will replace three-month abstinence rule that LGBTQ advocates had long decried as discriminatory.The United States has announced that it will expand the ability of gay and bisexual men to donate blood, moving to a single set of criteria for all prospective donors.
On Thursday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it updated federal guidelines for blood donations to do away with a requirement that men who have sex with men abstain from sex for three months prior to giving blood.
Instead, all potential donors — regardless of sexual orientation, sex or gender — will be screened with a new questionnaire that evaluates their individual risks for HIV based on sexual behaviour, recent partners and other factors.
“The implementation of these recommendations will represent a significant milestone for the agency and the LGBTQI+ community,” Dr Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biological Therapies, said in a statement.
The change came after decades of criticism that the government unfairly discriminated against gay men wishing to donate blood, forcing them to take additional measures before donating even though AIDS can impact people from different backgrounds.
The new guidelines, which were crafted in January and can now be used by blood banks, focus on individual behaviour instead of sexual orientation.
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