The pilot study will assess whether individual questionairres could replace discriminatory blood donation restrictions for gay and bisexual men. (Getty/ ALEX EDELMAN/AFP)
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a study which could finally remove discriminatory blood donation restrictions for gay and bisexual men.
Gay and bisexual men were banned for life from donating blood in the US at the height of the AIDS epidemic in 1985, and for 30 years afterwards.
In 2015, the FDA amended its rules, allowing queer men who had been celibate for 12 months to give blood.
In April this year, the FDA further relaxed these restrictions in response to blood shortages caused by the pandemic, meaning queer men must now abstain from sex for three months instead of 12 in order to be eligible.
Study Could End Restrictions on Blood Donations From Men With Male Sex Partners
Kayla Kibbe, provided by
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The Food and Drug Administration announced plans Tuesday to fund a new study into blood restrictions placed on male donors who have had male sex partners, ABC News reported.
The controversial ban on blood donations from men with male sex partners was first implemented in 1977, initially as a lifetime ban. In 2015, the restrictions were loosened to allow donations from men with a same-sex partner after a waiting period of one-year following a same-sex encounter. The FDA further relaxed blood donation restrictions earlier this year in response to a drop in donations amid the COVID-19 pandemic.