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After Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara's letter, four LGBTQ advocacy groups expressed appreciation and reiterated their support for ending the blood ban.
After Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara's letter, four LGBTQ advocacy groups expressed appreciation and reiterated their support for ending the blood ban.
Boy Anupong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) For the first time, the Biden administration is commenting on the Food and Drug Administration's long-time blood donation guidelines, which are impacting the LGBTQ+ community by preventing gay and bisexual men from being eligible blood donors. The statement, made by a White House official exclusively to ABC News, acknowledges the painful origins of the policy and comes on the heels of the American Red Cross declaring their first-ever national blood crisis last week, as supplies at hospitals and blood banks become dangerously low. Current U.S. policy holds that sexually active gay or bisexual men must abstain from sex for at least three months before they're allowed to donate blood. The rule applies to gay and bisexual men who are monogamous and those who test HIV negative and are practicing safe sex. It also includes gay and bisexual COVID-19 survivors who wish to donate convalescent plasma, rich with antibodies, for research. The restri