WASHINGTON (Michigan News Source) – In a recent landmark decision by the Federal Food and Drug Administration, those who are homosexual or bisexual will have the ability to donate blood with fewer restrictions. 

Earlier this spring, the FDA provided a final ruling regarding the “Recommendations for Evaluating Donor Eligibility Using Individual Risk-Based Questions to Reduce the Risk of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Transmission by Blood and Blood Products” which largely addressed men who had sex with men (MSM), although it also addresses donors who have multiple partners and the time period in which they might be able to donate blood. 

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“Beginning in September 1985, FDA recommended that blood establishments indefinitely defer male donors who have had sex with another male, even one time, since 1977, because of the strong clustering of AIDS and the subsequent discovery of high rates of HIV infection among MSM,” the FDA said in its report. 

Previously, the FDA recommendations were amended in 2015 to defer men’s donation eligibility to a year after their last sexual encounter with a man.  New guidelines would diminish the deferral period in most cases, but would be based on more than 12 requirements including: an indefinite deferral for anyone who has ever tested positive for HIV infection, a three month deferral for anyone taking a preventative medication for HIV, a three month deferral for anyone with the most recent sexual contact with a new partner and who has had anal sex within the past three months, a three month deferral for any individual who has syphilis or gonorrhea in the past three months, among other considerations. 

The Red Cross has been a forerunner in supporting this decision and allowing for more donors to contribute blood. 

“The Red Cross is committed to achieving an inclusive blood donation process that treats all potential donors with equality and respect, and ensures a safe, sufficient blood supply is readily available for patients in need,” the Red Cross said about the decision, “This historic change in approach to donor eligibility is significant progress, resulting in a blood donation process that is more inclusive than ever before. The Red Cross celebrates the FDA’s elimination of blood donation policies based on sexual orientation.” 

While providing many answers to common questions, the Red Cross answered on its site why the deferral is only three months, when the average detection rate of HIV is just under two weeks. 

“The three-month deferral was selected to provide adequate time for the development of other infectious disease markers in individuals with early infection—not just HIV,” the Red Cross said, “Each infectious disease agent (including hepatitis B and C) has a different length of time following infection where tests may not detect the virus, referred to as the window period. While the average time for HIV may be 9-10 days, this isn’t true of all infected persons, especially if they are on preventative treatment for HIV.”

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The FDA also recognized that other countries with similar HIV epidemiology have revised their donor eligibility criteria for men engaging in sexual activities with other men, including the United Kingdom in 2021 and Canada and 2022. 

In these countries, blood donors are asked if they have had a new or more than one sexual partner within the last three months, and if so, have they engaged in anal sex. 

“Individuals who report having a new sexual partner and anal sex or having more than one sexual partner and anal sex in the last three months are deferred from blood donation,” the FDA said in its ruling. “To date, the United Kingdom and Canada have not reported safety concerns following the implementation of this individual risk-based deferral policy.”

The recommendations in April 2020, which reduced the deferral blood donor period for those engaging in homosexual sex was partially motivated by the “COVID-19 public health emergency and reported shortages in the U.S. blood supply,” according to the FDA.  The FDA also acknowledged that the ruling went beyond the COVID-19 public health emergency, and signaled the agency’s “commitment to further investigate individual risk assessment as an alternative to time-based deferrals for MSM.”

For more information about the FDA’s ruling, see here.