A lot has happened in the seven months since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration agreed to its blood donor deferral recommendations.
The most significant event took place in Orlando last month, when a gunman murdered 49 people and wounded dozens of others in a gay nightclub. In the aftermath, the LGBT community—and many others—were outraged that gay and bisexual men were turned away from hospitals and other facilities when plasma and blood donations were desperately needed.
On Tuesday, a press release from the FDA acknowledged the situation, and the agency announced plans to gather public comments and re-evaluate regulations. Scientific American reported:
In a notice posted to the Federal Register, the FDA said it was establishing a public docket for comment about its current recommendations and that interested people should submit comments, backed by scientific evidence, supporting alternative potential policies to reduce the risk of HIV transmission. Such suggestions "could include the feasibility of moving from the existing time-based deferrals related to risk behaviors to alternate deferral options, such as the use of individual risk assessments." The agency said it would take the comments into account "as it continues to reevaluate and update blood donor deferral policies as new scientific information becomes available."
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Congress communicates
In the days following the Orlando shooting, communications pros who work with members of Congress were tackling the issue. Nearly 120 elected officials wrote to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, urging the agency to lift restrictions and instead implement an individual risk assessment that would reflect "risk-based behaviors as opposed to sexual orientation."
The outreach by lawmakers has been led by Rep. Mike Quigley, (D-Illinois), vice-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus. Critics of the FDA ban say it discriminates against men who have sex with men. Quigley issued a statement on Tuesday, that read, in part:
The tragedy at Pulse nightclub in Orlando highlighted the discrimination gay and bisexual men face when attempting to donate blood to those in need. Moving towards an individual risk assessment would provide for a fair, equitable, nondiscriminatory blood donation policy, one based in science that allows all healthy Americans to safely donate blood.
Out.com, an LGBT website, opined:
The agency’s openness to easing or even removing the deferral is still somewhat in doubt. The call for comment asks if a deferral period shorter than 12 months would be acceptable or if questions about “specific sexual behaviors” would work. Sounds like the agency is still trying to catch up with today’s highly accurate blood screening technology.
The FDA’s website didn’t have any splashy headlines nor coverage of the news.
As a footnote, though, July is Blood Donor Month. Historically, the summer season has the lowest supplies, and many nonprofits and hospitals are using social media to encourage donations. As you can see, hashtags in some tweets were plentiful:
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