FDA to Hold Public Forums on Blood Donation Bans from Gay Men
Since the 1980s, which was the dawn of the AIDS/HIV crisis as we know in America, blood donations from gay men have been strictly forbidden.
In the waning decades of the 20th century, it was believed as gospel that the transmission of AIDS or the HIV virus was only possible through unprotected sexual intercourse via gay sex.
Long after statistics, common sense and reality proved otherwise, it was finally proven that unprotected sexual intercourse regardless of sexuality identity, the sharing of infected needles or unwitting blood transfusion could transfer infection of AIDS or HIV.
However, belief, bias and ignorance die hard. And the truth can be an inconvenience to politics and rules of behavior that society or religion deem normal.
Even though it was proven fact by the late 1980s and early 1990s that AIDS and HIV could be transferred from person to person regardless of sexual identity, and that the virus undoubtedly raged further and needlessly infected a lot people because gay men were scapegoated, only gay men were prohibited from donating blood.
The blood donation ban on gay men stands to this very day. It had only been altered as late as December 2015 so that only gay men who have been celibate for a year or more can donate blood, but the original political and cultural sentiment that caused the ban is still in effect.
The homophobic belief that gay men caused the disease or that gay men were the only ones affected, as was ignorantly, wholeheartedly and foolishly believed in the early days of AIDS/HIV recognition, was a contributing factor to the gay men blood donation ban.
In the aftermath of the Pulse nightclub mass killings in Orlando and the advent of lone wolf terrorists and mass killers, the FDA has decided to ask the public for help in re-imagining their official guidelines concerning blood donations form gay men.
In soon to be publicly advertised public debate and forums, the FDA will ask the public for their help, ideas and comments in their efforts to re-shape blood donation policy.
Dr. Peter Marks, who is the director for the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluations and Research said in a public statement:
the FDA invites comments on the feasibility of moving from the existing time-based deferrals related to risk behaviors to alternate deferral options, such as the use of individual risk assessment. The agency also invites comments regarding the design of potential studies to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of such alternative deferral options"
In an official statement released by the FDA, the FDA stated,
Interested persons are invited to submit comments, supported by scientific evidence such as data from research, regarding potential blood donor deferral policy options to reduce the risk of HIV transmission, including the feasibility of moving from the existing time-based deferrals related to risk behaviors to alternate deferral options, such as the use of individual risk assessments,
Additionally, comments are invited regarding the design of potential studies to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of such alternative deferral options. FDA will take the comments received into account as it continues to reevaluate and update blood donor deferral policies as new scientific information becomes available.
By some estimates, by fully lifting the current homophobic-tinged blood donation ban could increase national blood bank supplies by over 600,000 unit pints or more. That corresponds to well over 350,000 new donors a year.
The FDA is also bowing to political pressure, as well over 130 members of congress and the senate sent the FDA letters of protests, urging the FDA to change their blood donation policies.
If you are interested in being part of the soon to be revealed FDA public forums on blood donation policy, then stay updated with the FDAs official website or send a letter of inquiry.
The FDA must end the blood donation ban from gay men policy. It is homophobic and self-destructive. The initiation of the ban in the early 1980s helped the disease to spread like wildfire, since people believed that only gay men could get the disease.
The FDA must acknowledge its error, the scapegoating of gay men and LGBT people and how its homophobic policies made AID/HIV transmission worse.
Rescinding the policy without acknowledging such will only enable revisionist history writing and trivialize the stigmatization such homophobic policies placed on whole generations of gay men and LGBT-proud communities of people for decades.
Rescinding the policy is not enough.
The stigmatization and shameless scapegoating of gay men did nothing to stop the spread of AIDS/HIV.
Meanwhile, in the early and late 1980s, transmission of the disease via heterosexual sex, unwitting transfusions and the sharing of dirty needles ran wildly unchecked.
The truth must be told.
No matter how hard it is to overcome misguided beliefs, homophobic, hateful bias and compounded ignorance.
