US Food and Drug Administration officially abolishes regulations prohibiting ``blood donation from gay and bisexual men''

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on May 11, 2023 that it had officially lifted regulations banning homosexual and bisexual men from donating blood. This ban was introduced during the epidemic of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), but there were criticisms that it discriminated against gays rather than being medically justifiable. Ayako Miyashita, a part-time professor at the Department of Social Welfare, Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles, explains why the ban was established and abolished.

Gay men can now donate blood after FDA changes decades-old rule – a health policy researcher explains the benefits
https://theconversation.com/gay-men-can-now-donate-blood-after-fda-changes-decades-old-rule-a-health-policy-researcher-explains-the-benefits-205544

The FDA banned blood donations from gay and bisexual men in 1983, and the year before, in 1982, transfused blood from men who reported having sexual contact with other men. The regulation was triggered by cases of infected patients becoming infected with HIV.

In 1983, almost nothing was known about Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and at that time, I only knew that it was an incurable disease that was rapidly spreading among gays. In 1984, one year after the introduction of the ban, it was discovered that HIV was the cause of AIDS, and in 1985 it became possible to screen for HIV by donating blood. Considering the level of science in the 1980s, this FDA ban is justified.

However, accumulating more than 40 years of research results, the routes of HIV transmission and behaviors at risk of infection have been clarified, and the merits obtained by prohibiting blood donations from gay men are the lack of blood donations and discriminatory rules. It became clear that this did not outweigh the disadvantages caused by

Since 2013, the US government has introduced a `` blood transfusion monitoring system '' that monitors blood donations for various pathogens, including HIV. In December 2015, the FDA established an exemption for gay men to ``allow blood donation only if there has been no sexual contact in the past year.'' In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, this period was further shortened to three months.

However, some researchers and gay rights advocates believe that the relaxation of time-based regulations, such as one year or three months, is insufficient, and that the type of sexual contact, relationship with a partner, and partner It was criticized that it was unrealistic because it did not consider various factors such as the number of people and the frequency of sexual contact.

In addition, there is a trend to lift the ban on blood donation from gay and bisexual men outside the United States, and regulations have already been abolished in the Netherlands and France.

Blood donation from gay and bisexual men tends to be lifted worldwide - GIGAZINE

Miyashita said that the FDA's decision to lift the ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men is that America's blood supply has fallen to critical levels. By receiving blood donations from gay and bisexual men, the blood supply is expected to increase by 2% to 4%, and more than 1 million lives may be saved.

In addition, blood donation regulations in Japan are stipulated as follows.

Those who are carriers of viruses such as AIDS and hepatitis, or suspected of doing so｜If you refrain from donating blood｜Flow of blood donation｜About blood donation｜Japanese Red Cross Society
https://www.jrc.or.jp/donation/about/refrain/detail_04/