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Right now in the U.S., gay and bisexual men (often referred to as MSM, or “men who have sex with men”) are not allowed to give blood if they’ve had sex with another man in the past three months. If we don’t get more blood donors fast, we’re not going to be able to treat people with serious burns, those having heart surgeries and organ transplants, and those battling cancer.īut there is one easily implementable solution to the national blood-supply shortage that’s been available for years and could be a lifeline: allowing gay and bisexual men to donate freely. Collections at high schools and colleges dropped by 50 percent over that same period. That’s because the pandemic forced the cancellation of blood drives-three times as many were canceled in 2020 compared with the year before, according to the Red Cross.
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And more than half of all centers have less than a three-day stockpile for times of crisis. The country’s blood supply is also running dangerously low: About 30 percent of centers across the nation have a supply that could run out in one day or less and must be carefully managed. requires a blood donation every two seconds. Many people need blood transfusions-in fact, the American Red Cross estimates that someone in the U.S. The FDA has made forward progress in this regard and has been actively engaged in re-examining the issue of blood donor deferral for men who have sex with men (MSM), taking into account the current body of scientific information, and we are considering the possibility of pursuing alternative strategies that maintain blood safety.AMERICAN HOSPITALS ARE flooded with sick patients, and not everyone there is battling Covid-19. The FDA also sent a statement addressing the current policy saying in part: "Developing the scientific information that is needed to further change blood donor policies does take time and effort. RELATED: Philadelphia meteorologist advocates change to FDA blood donation policy impacting LGBTQ+ community As such the Red Cross believes blood donation eligibility should not be determined by methods that are based upon sexual orientation and are committed to working with partners toward achieving this goal. "The American Red Cross seeks to build an inclusive environment that embraces diversity for all those who engage with our lifesaving mission. The American Red Cross in a statement says in part: Brian Custer, Vice President of Research and Scientific programs at Vitalent Research Institute. "The current regulation is that any gay or bisexual man or man who has sex with men, who were sexually active and has had sex in the last three months, is not eligible to donate blood," Dr. Most recently the policy was revised in April of 2020. Since then, the policy has somewhat changed first in 2015, allowing men who had sex with men to donate blood if they had not had sex with another man for 12 months. Not only are we dealing with a pandemic, but the American Red Cross says we're in a blood crisis that may put patients at risk.