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Blood Bans

A number of governments, including the U.S., bans the use of blood donated by men who have had sex even a single time with another man since 1977, citing fears of HIV infection from transfusions.

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Advisory panel advises to keep gay blood donor ban

CNN, Posted: 6/14/2010, 5:19 PM
A federal committee recommends maintaining the policy preventing gay men from donating blood in the United States, provoking disappointment and anger from gay activist groups. The Federal Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability voted 9 to 6 against lifting the ban Friday. This committee makes recommendations to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Current FDA rules dictate that any man who has had sex with another man since 1977, even once, cannot donate blood. This rule has been in place since the early 1980s, when there were no tests in existence for identifying HIV-positive blood. Concerns about HIV tainting the blood supply prompted this policy, viewed as a safety measure. Although the committee recommended keeping this policy, the group also called the rule "suboptimal" and suggested using criteria based on individual behavior instead of broad characteristics, such as men who have had sex with other men. A report from the Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law finds that about 219,000 more pints of blood could be available each year if the FDA lifted the ban. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force cited this figure in its response to Friday's decision. The American Red Cross expressed disappointment about the decision, stating that "while the Red Cross is obligated by law to follow the guidelines set forth by the FDA, we also strongly support the use of rational, scientifically-based deferral periods that are applied fairly and consistently among donors who engage in similar risk activities."

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Hearings begin on lifting ban on gay blood donors

San Francisco Chronicle, Posted: 6/10/2010, 5:13 PM
A federal advisory committee is set to begin hearings today to consider lifting its long-standing policy banning men who have had sex with men from giving blood. The prohibition, which has been in place since the mid-'80s, was intended to protect the blood supply from being tainted with the virus that causes AIDS. But proponents of changing the rules say improved testing methods make the current standards seem outdated. In addition, they say that screening techniques may not rule out other potentially risky donors, making the ban singling out gay and bisexual men unfair. Under the current rules, any man who has had sex with a man since 1977, the year HIV was believed to have reached the United States, are excluded from donating blood. "We recognize there's some inconsistency," said Dr. Kim-Anh Nguyen, medical director of Blood Centers of the Pacific, which provides blood and blood components to hospitals, doctors and patients in Northern California. "For instance, a woman who has sex with a man who's known to have AIDS will get a 12-month deferral and a man who's had sex - even once since 1977 - would be deferred for life." For that reason, the American Association of Blood Banks and the American Red Cross have agreed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ban is unwarranted and recommend a one-year period of abstinence by gay and bisexual men. They say the one-year waiting period offers enough time to screen out blood infected with HIV. The Federal Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability will meet today and Friday in Rockville, Md., to discuss the issue. The committee makes recommendations to the secretary and the assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA.

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U.S. to review ban on blood donations by gay men

CNN, Posted: 5/27/2010, 9:51 AM
Under Food and Drug Administration rules, men who have had sex -- even once -- with another man since 1977 are not permitted to give blood. The rule was implemented in 1983, sparked by concerns that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, was tainting the blood supply. Screening tests to identify HIV-positive blood had not been developed. The policy was seen as a safety measure. But today, with the availability of more accurate testing, activists, blood organizations and several U.S. senators say the lifetime ban is "medically and scientifically unwarranted" and are calling for change. The Federal Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability will consider the issue in meetings June 10 and 11 in Rockville, Maryland. The committee makes recommendations to the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA. Medical opinions vary; some experts say that lifting the ban could pose health risks to blood recipients. The Human Rights Campaign, the American Red Cross, America's Blood Centers and AABB, formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks, support easing the lifetime ban to allow gay blood donors. In a joint statement, the blood organizations said that safety was the first priority and that potential donors should be screened more fairly, regardless of sexual orientation. The FDA defended its current policy in an e-mailed statement to CNN.com: The policy, it said, is "based on scientific data that show that certain medical, behavioral and geographical factors are associated with increased risk of transfusion transmitted diseases." The agency has been "taking into account the current body of scientific information, and we are considering the possibility of pursuing alternative strategies that maintain blood safety," the statement said. The FDA retained the ban on gay blood donors after reviewing the issue in 2000 and 2006.

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Researchers urge end to ban on gay blood donations

National Post (Canada), Posted: 5/26/2010, 6:36 AM
The policy banning gay men from donating blood in Canada is outdated and discriminatory, according to a pair of prominent AIDS researchers who argue that changing it would benefit the whole blood system. In an article published Tuesday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers Mark Wainberg and Dr. Norbert Gilmore say it's time for the lifetime ban to be lifted. "Here we are 27 years later, still stuck with policies that are antiquated. And in our view these are policies that are not only discriminatory in regard to gay men but they are also policies that do not serve the Canadian blood system well because they result in far fewer blood donations," said Mr. Wainberg, director of the McGill University AIDS Centre at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital. Countries began implementing the bans in the early 1980s when blood tests weren't good enough to detect HIV and gay men became known as a high-risk group for transmitting the virus. Canadian Blood Services now tests all donated blood for HIV but there is a window period of several weeks where new infections cannot be detected. Ron Vezina, director of media relations at the blood agency, says eligibility rules for blood donation are based on population risk assessments, not individual risks, and men who have had sex with men are still among the highest risk groups for HIV infection in Canada.

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Pressure grows to rethink ban on gay blood donors

KansasCity.com, Posted: 4/6/2010, 5:28 AM
For decades, the federal government has imposed a lifetime ban on blood donations from men who have had sex with men. The reason is that the AIDS virus, HIV, can be spread through blood transfusions, and gay men are more likely to carry HIV than the general population. But increasingly refined tests are removing many of the doubts about whether a blood donor carries HIV. So a movement is under way to end the lifetime ban and bring the rules for gay blood donors more in line with restrictions placed on other potentially risky donors. A leading gay men’s health organization is calling for a rewrite of federal regulations on blood donations so that all risky behaviors — gay and heterosexual — are treated the same. And a group of 18 U.S. senators, led by John Kerry, wrote last month to the Food and Drug Administration, the agency that regulates the nation’s blood supply, to review what they called “outdated, medically and scientifically unsound deferral criteria” that exclude gay donors. The FDA said it is “actively engaged in re-examining the issue of blood donor deferral” among gay men. “Taking into account the current body of scientific information … we are considering the possibility of pursuing alternative strategies that maintain blood safety,” a recent FDA statement said. A Health and Human Services advisory committee on blood safety and availability plans to review the issue in June.

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Kerry calls on FDA to end ban on gay blood donors

Fox News (anti-gay), Posted: 3/4/2010, 7:58 PM
Sen. John Kerry called on the government Thursday to abolish a "discriminatory" law that bars homosexual men in the U.S. from donating blood, saying "not a single piece of scientific evidence supports the ban." In a letter sent to the Food and Drug Administration, Kerry, D-Mass., along with a host of other Democrats, urged Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to change existing law that bars gay men from giving blood. Under the current law, which went into effect in 1983, any man who has had a sexual relationship with another man since 1977 is prohibited from donating blood. In an op-ed published Wednesday in Bay Windows newspaper, Kerry called the ban a "cruel reality that I thought warranted a close examination of the justifications. "The three largest blood donation organizations in our country -- the American Red Cross, America's Blood Centers, and AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banks) -- all agree calling the ban 'medically and scientifically unwarranted,'" wrote Kerry. The Gay Men's Health Center reported last month that the ban was created at a time when the transmission of HIV was unknown and creates a stigma that is inconsistent because straight people who have sex with "commercial sex workers" only have to wait a year before donating blood. The group adds that the chronic shortages of blood should be proof enough that limiting gay donors is self-destructive.

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Scottish health officials keep gay blood donor ban

Scotsman.com, Posted: 11/4/2008, 9:06 PM
Calls to allow gay men to give blood were rejected by health officials yesterday, amid concern about protecting the safety of donations. A petition to the Scottish Parliament demanded a review of the donation rules to let healthy gay and bisexual men give blood. But Keith Thompson, the national director of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS), said its duty was to ensure blood was as safe as possible, and warned that HIV infections in gay men were rising. The Scottish Government signalled that it backed the ban – at least for the time being. The refusal to allow gay men to donate blood has been condemned by gay rights campaigners. While all donations are tested for infections such as HIV, hepatitis B and C and syphilis, a small number of cases will not be detected by these tests. This is because the tests do not pick up very early-stage infections.

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HIV from gay blood donor said likely once every 5,769 years

ABC News-Australia, Posted: 8/17/2008, 11:57 AM
A Hobart discrimination hearing has heard the risk of Tasmania's blood supply being infected by HIV would be extremely low if gay men who practice safe sex were allowed to donate blood. The risk calculations were made by the lawyer representing a man who has accused the Red Cross of discrimination. The Red Cross refused Michael Cain's blood because he had been in a gay relationship. Mr Cain argues screening should be based on safe sexual practices, not sexual orientation. Canadian risk analysis expert William Leiss told the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal such a change would increase the risk of infection. But Mr Cain's lawyer, Peter Tree, said statistics showed if gay men who have safe sex were allowed to donate blood, the risk of Tasmania's blood supply being infected by HIV would be once every 5,769 years.

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Russia repeals ban on blood donations by gay men

Gay.com, Posted: 5/24/2008, 3:35 PM
Russia has repealed its six-year ban on gay blood donors after a tumultuous battle between gay activist groups and the Russian Minister of Health and Social Development. Tatyana Golikova, the minister of the department, signed the decree April 16, but members of the media were not informed until Thursday night, according to U.K. Gay News. Activists have been campaigning against the ban since April 2006, when they sent a letter to the ministry of health and social development asking for a repeal of the ban because it was unconstitutional. In September 2007, activists attempted to picket the ministry's office in Moscow, but the Prefecture of the Central Administrative Area of Moscow banned the demonstration for security reasons, U.K. Gay News reported. In 1993, consensual gay sex was legalized and in 1999, Russia's authority on psychology decided to declassify homosexuality as a mental illness.

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Canada studies lifting ban on gay blood donations

CBC News, Posted: 3/10/2008, 11:59 AM
Canadian Blood Services is conducting research to determine whether it should lift its total ban on blood donations from gay men. The not-for-profit organization, which manages most of Canada's blood supply, is doing a series of studies on the issue, said Dr. Mindy Goldman, the executive responsible for donors. Canadian Blood Services' current policy says it will reject blood from any man "if he has had sex with another male, even once, since 1977." The organization has completed a risk assessment, will do an anonymous survey of more than 40,000 donors this year, and is providing money for three academic studies of donations, she said. Blood services directors are scheduled to get a preliminary report on the results in early 2009.

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