Feds Study Lifting Ban On Blood Donations By Gay Men

Early in the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a federal government policy established a total ban on blood donations from men who have sex with men.

Last year, the Advisory Committee on Blood Safety & Availability for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) voted to recommend that the ban be continued and cited insufficient scientific data to support revision to the policy. However, the committee also recommended additional research to study the advisability of allowing low-risk gay and bisexual men to donate blood.

In July of this year, HHS asked experts on blood donation to reexamine the policy and see if there is a way to let at least some homosexuals donate blood. HHS asked the experts to consider the following questions:

- How do the risk of blood transmissible diseases in the current donor population relate to risk factors in donors?

- What is the root cause of incidents where blood not cleared for use is released by error anyway?

- Do potential donors correctly understand the current screening questionnaire which is meant to screen out donors that might donate infected blood?

- If the policy on gay donors was modified to allow some of them to donate blood, would men who have sex with men comply with modified deferral criteria? I.E. would those who are likely to be infected screen themselves out?

- Would a new screening strategy, such as pre- and post-qualifying donation infectious disease testing, for men who have sex with men, assure blood safety while enabling collection of data that could demonstrate safe blood collection?

Great Britain has upped the ante on this issue. It now allows some gay men to donate blood. A review by a British advisory committee apparently demonstrated that the type and timing of sexual activity -- not sexual orientation -- is the relevant risk factor for HIV transmission via donated blood. 

Henceforth, only men who have had anal or oral sex with another man in the previous 12 months (protected or unprotected) will be asked to refrain from donating blood.

According to the New York Times Australia, Japan, South Africa, Sweden and New Zealand had already lifted their blanket bans on blood donations by gay men.

The change in British policy followed the April 2011 release of a report by a panel of experts. You may see a copy of that report by clicking on the following link:

http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_129909.pdf

Advisory Committee Report On The Safety of Blood, Tissues, and Organs

Boyce Hinman