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Only 8 million Americans donate blood, just 5 percent of currently eligible donors. The FDA considered easing the ban partly because the nation is facing an increasingly tight blood supply. Rebecca Haley, the Red Cross's chief medical officer. "We cannot change our procedures in a way that would result in increased numbers of infectious donation in our blood supply," said Dr.
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Later, other high-risk people were barred from donating, such as intravenous drug users and prostitutes.īut nowwith the nation bracing for blood shortages and new genetic tests promising to eliminate the rare cases of HIV still caused by donated bloodmany blood banks are asking why they have to turn away thousands of healthy men.īut even panelists who voted against the change did encourage the FDA to continue to study how to change what several called a discriminatory policy that mandates that no gay men can give blood even though doctors are only worried about a subset of that population.Ībout 8 percent of gay men have HIV, th government estimates. The ban on gay male donors was adopted in 1985 because the deadly AIDS virus first appeared in the United States as an epidemic in the gay community. Ask about specific requirements, but generally blood donors should: Be 17 years of age or older, however some 16-year-old people can donate blood with parental consent, Weigh at least 110 pounds, Be in good health and not taking antibiotics, Follow the U.S Food and Drug Administration ( FDA) guidance if you have had sex with a man who has sex. So as an extra precaution, the FDA also requires blood banks to question potential donors about their risks for HIV and other diseases and refuse the blood of high-risk people. Michael Busch of the University of California-San Francisco.
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Of the nation's 12 million units of donated blood, about 10 HIV-infected units slip through each year, causing about two to three HIV infections a year, said Dr. The issue has split the blood industry, with half the nation's blood banks supporting a further easing of the policyto one year, instead of fivewhile the American Red Cross opposes any change.Īll donated blood undergoes strict testing for the AIDS virus and other blood-borne diseasesthat would not have changed. That might result in 1.7 HIV-infected units of blood slipping into the blood supply, he said. According to the FDA guidelines, people who are intersex will also need to self-report a binary gender to donate blood but do not need to state that they are intersex. Changing the policy would have resulted in about 62,300 menboth gays and those who had experimented with homosexual activity only onceseeking to donate blood, estimated FDA medical officer Dr.