Gay men still face hurdles to donate blood amid national shortage
ABC News
Gay and bisexual men are still restricted from giving blood, in a move that LGBTQ activists call discriminatory.
The U.S. is facing a national blood crisis, the "worst blood shortage in over a decade," the American Red Cross warns. Despite this urgent need for donations, people who have sex with gay or bisexual men are still facing restrictions on their ability to give blood.
The Food and Drug Administration bars people who have had sex with gay or bisexual men from donating blood for three months following the most recent sexual contact because of fears of HIV in the blood supply.
The agency changed the deferral period from 12 months to three months in November 2020 as blood donations fell and hospitals faced critical shortages during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some advocates, including the HRC, say the FDA is moving too slowly on removing the restriction, saying that it's an outright ban on the ability of people, particularly gay and bisexual men, to donate blood.
