The U.S. Food & Drug Administration issued Thursday revised blood-donation guidelines that relax the waiting period for sexually active gay men, citing “the significant shortage in the supply of blood” created by the novel coronavirus crisis.
In a revision to its December 2015 guidance, the agency reduced the waiting period for men who have had sex with other men from 12 months to three months, acting without prior public comment in response to the national emergency declared March 13.
Dr. Peter Marks, director of the agency’s Center for Biologics and Evaluation and research, said that the COVID-19 pandemic “has caused unprecedented challenges to the U.S. blood supply.”
“Donor centers have experienced a dramatic reduction in donations due to the implementation of social distancing and the cancellation of blood drives,” he said in a statement. “Maintaining an adequate blood supply is vital to public health.”
The guidance also reduced from 12 to three months the waiting period for female donors who have had sex with men who had sex with men, as well as for donors with recent tattoos and piercings.
“At the FDA, we want to do everything we can to encourage more blood donations, which includes revisiting and updating some of our existing policies to help ensure we have an adequate blood supply, while still protecting the safety of our nation’s blood supply,” Dr. Marks said.
Log Cabin Republicans spokesman Charles T. Moran cheered President Trump for cutting through the “FDA bureaucracy and red tape,” adding that “we’re thankful for his leadership and quick thinking in relaxing the outdated Obama-era restrictions.”
Gay rights advocates have long fought the blood donation waiting period, calling it discriminatory and outdated.
“With the need for blood quickly becoming a priority, America can count on this Administration’s actions to end gay men’s blood being devalued,” Mr. Moran said. “Thank you to President Trump, HHS Secretary Alex Azar and U.S. FDA Administrator Dr. Stephen Hahn for making this a priority.”
Today, as part of FDA’s ongoing commitment to fight the #COVID19 pandemic, we issued guidance for immediate implementation to address the urgent & immediate need for blood & its components. https://t.co/hIuHhPAvXV pic.twitter.com/Ub4tk1fkAw
— Dr. Stephen M. Hahn (@SteveFDA) April 2, 2020
Still some restrictions, but good to see this step into the 21st century! https://t.co/1aJz7z9zOI
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) April 2, 2020
Other LGBT advocates were less laudatory, calling the Trump administration revision a step in the right direction but complaining that it didn’t go far enough.
“The FDA’s announcement today is another important step to helping solve this dire blood supply shortage, but there’s still more work to be done,” said Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin Democrat. “The administration needs to change their blood donation policies to be based on individual risk so that all healthy gay and bisexual men are able to donate.”
Human Rights Campaign president Alphonso David said the guidance was “a notable step forward,” but that prospective donors should not be evaluated based on “identity.”
“Under the new guidelines, a person who has had unprotected sex only days before can still donate blood, while a gay or bisexual man who has had sex with another man within three months of the date of donation — despite using condoms and taking HIV prevention medicine like PrEP — cannot,” Mr. David said. “This difference is unfair, and based in bias.”
The FDA said that the recommendations “are expected to remain in place after the COVID-19 pandemic ends, with any appropriate changes based on comments we receive and our experience implementing the guidances.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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