FDA to allow gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships to donate blood trends now
Gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships will be able to donate blood without abstaining from sex, under a rule change being drawn up by health officials.
Sources say the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently bars men who have sex with men from having intercourse for at least three months before donating.
The policy originated in the 1980s during the AIDs epidemic when tests for HIV were not sensitive enough to ensure blood was not contaminated.
The ban was lifted in 2015, but men who have sex with men were required to abstain from sex for a year before donating. This was dropped to three months in 2020.
But the agency is now planning to fully reverse the rule, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Gay or bisexual men in monogamous relationships will be allowed to donate blood in the US within months, it was revealed today (file photo)
It will bring the US more in line with other countries like the UK, Spain and Mexico — which have also lifted restrictions on gay or bisexual men donating blood.
Blood tests for HIV are now more than 99 per cent accurate. The FDA's move is based on a study involving 1,600 gay and bisexual men backed by three nonprofits.
Politicians and campaigners welcomed the end of the 'discriminatory' and 'outdated' policy today.
According to plans being drawn up by the FDA, seen by the WSJ, men and women donating blood will now have to fill out a questionnaire
