While blood banks were lucky enough on Sunday to be able to turn away the long lines of donors for the remainder of the afternoon and evening after the mass shooting, following an outpouring of community support, the question still lingers.įrom 1983 until last year, gay men were universally banned from giving blood, assuming they'd had "sexual contact" with another man anytime since 1977, NBC News reported in 2013, because they were considered to be at a higher risk for contracting and spreading some sexually transmitted diseases like Hepatitis B and AIDS.īefore March 1985, there was no way for the FDA to test donated blood for HIV.
WHY CAN GAY MEN DONATE BLOOD UPDATE
Update : The FBI has updated the death toll to 49 victims. But why are gay men banned from donating in the first place? The blood bank has since stated that the reports are false.
It's a contested position, to be sure, and in the aftermath of a devastating Orlando nightclub ambush during which a gunman killed about 50 patrons and injured at least as many, reports began to circulate that a Florida blood bank was rescinding the regulation that gay men can't give blood in a terribly ironic situation, because the club that was attacked, Pulse, has been a haven for members of the LGBT community. The Minister for Health in Northern Ireland said the decision was based on “evidence regarding the safety of donated blood”.The Food and Drug Administration's official stance is that blood donation centers should not accept blood from gay men who have had sex with other men in the past year. On 1st June 2020, the one year deferral policy for gbMSM in Northern Ireland reduced to three months, bringing it in line with the rest of the UK, which has operated a three-month deferral policy since 2017. In the run-up to the General Election 2020, HIV Ireland published a HIV Manifesto calling on the next Government to “ End the discriminatory 12-month deferral period on blood donations for gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men.” In 2019, our MPOWER Programme Manager met with senior members of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) to further HIV Ireland’s policy position to review the 12-month deferral criteria. In addition, the best available scientific evidence and advances in testing technology mean that the current 12-month deferral period imposed on gbMSM exceeds what is required to maintain the safety of the blood supply. HIV Ireland’s position is that this approach is discriminatory and should be replaced with an evidence-based individualised risk-based approach for all blood donors to assess sexual behaviour, rather than grouping donors based on sexuality. The same criteria do not apply to heterosexual blood donors.
In January 2017, the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) updated the donor deferral criteria for gay and bisexual men donating blood, changing from a life-long deferral (in place since the emergence of HIV in the 1980’s) to a one-year deferral.Ĭurrently in Ireland, gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men (gbMSM) must abstain from any sexual contact (regardless of the use of condoms and/or PrEP) for a minimum of 12 months before meeting the criteria for donating blood.
The Final Countdown – Irish AIDS Day 2021.