The center receives advise on this issue by the Blood Products Advisory Council, which meets regularly to consider issues such as altering the pool of potential blood donors. The FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research regulates and establishes standards for the collection of blood and blood products. They encourage individuals who believe they may now be eligible to give under the new guidelines to visit to learn more about donor eligibility requirements that help ensure the safety of both blood donors and blood recipients. On June 8, the American Red Cross implemented the changes to donor eligibility criteria announced earlier this spring by the FDA. According to the Food and Drug Administration, this pre-screening eliminates up to 90 percent of donors who may be carrying a blood-borne disease.
Blood centers nationwide screen potential donors by asking a set of questions written to determine risk factors that could indicate possible infection with a transmissible disease, such as HIV or hepatitis. On April 2, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it was updating its policy regarding blood donations from men who have sex with men (MSM), reducing the deferral period from 12 months to three months.
What is the current federal policy on gay and bisexual men donating blood?
