WHERE ARE GAY BLOOD DONATION BANS BEING REMOVED? Which other countries are lifting such bans and why? The measures, both announced this week, are the latest in a wave of countries lifting blood donation restrictions on gay and bi men that were often first put in place during the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. LONDON, Jan 14 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Greece has lifted a decades-old ban on gay and bisexual men giving blood, while France has announced it will scrap rules requiring a year of abstinence from gay sex to donate. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.As Greece and France lift restrictions, here's why many countries are moving to let gay and bi men donate blood This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. (SOUNDBITE OF WILLY MASON'S "RESTLESS FUGITIVE")Ĭopyright © 2021 NPR.
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For NPR News, I'm Lesley McClurg in San Francisco. MCCLURG: He says science should drive health policy, not homophobia. We're holding them back from making an impact on the world. GARRETT-PATE: All any of us want to do in life is help other people, whether it's donating blood, donating plasma. Anybody who is not monogamous, gay or straight, would have to wait. Donors would answer questions about their sexual activity. MCCLURG: The FDA is considering swapping out the three-month celibacy requirement for a risk questionnaire. GARRETT-PATE: Someone who's just as sexually active but not a man having sex with men can walk into any blood bank in America and give blood. So back in Los Angeles, potential blood donor Samuel Garrett-Pate says it's unfair that he and his boyfriend would have to wait. MCCLURG: She says requiring anything longer than 10 days without sex isn't necessary. HAHN: We can very accurately detect the presence of HIV in patients about 10 days after HIV transmission occurs. She says back in the '80s, it took several months to know if you'd contracted HIV after a sexual encounter. Monica Hahn is an HIV specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. MONICA HAHN: There is absolutely nothing scientifically that justifies this ban. An agency spokesperson wrote in a statement that while blood supply screening is highly sensitive, a small risk of HIV transmission still exists. MCCLURG: The FDA argues that their position is based on the best available evidence. SCOTT WIENER: The FDA's blood donation ban is 100% driven by fear, ignorance and outdated stereotypes about gay and bisexual men. The lifetime ban was shortened to a year of celibacy in 2015 and then reduced to three months last April, which is still a problem according to California State Senator Scott Wiener. During the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, the Food and Drug Administration determined it was too dangerous for men who were having sex with other men to donate blood. MCCLURG: Pandey says the best time to donate plasma is soon after someone recovers from COVID-19 because that's when their antibody levels are the highest. PANDEY: So far, I think the data is promising. She says early results from clinical trials show that donated plasma from people who have battled COVID-19 is beneficial for other sick patients.
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Suchi Pandey is the chief medical officer for Stanford Blood Center. That's what it's (laughter) often called, liquid gold. They're carried in a yellowish fluid called blood plasma. MCCLURG: His body is coursing with antibodies, little tiny proteins designed to ward off future infections. And yet simply because I am gay, I can't do anything with it.
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GARRETT-PATE: I potentially have something that could at least help someone recover, prevent someone from dying, in me. The first thing he wanted to do was go to a blood bank as a deadly COVID-19 surge hit Los Angeles. MCCLURG: The 28-year-old was back on his feet after a few weeks. I just was very tired, a bit of body aches. SAMUEL GARRETT-PATE: So I tested positive for COVID couple days after Thanksgiving, actually. MCCLURG: Hearing call-outs like that is painful for Samuel Garrett-Pate. LESLEY MCCLURG, BYLINE: Blood banks are flooding the airwaves.įRANK MCGEORGE: If you are not ill and you qualify to donate blood, please do it. Lesley McClurg from member station KQED explains. Many argue that a federal policy preventing many gay men from donating blood is driven by stigma rather than science. Yet a portion of the population is restricted from donating. Throughout the pandemic, thousands of blood drives across the country have been canceled, leaving blood supplies critically low.