FDA To Remove Restriction On Blood Donations From Gay, Bisexual Men | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Zach Jewell.

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Friday that it will remove a restriction on gay and bisexual men donating blood, a segment of the population that faces a higher risk of HIV.

    According to draft guidelines announced by the FDA, the new policy would eliminate a requirement that gay and bisexual men abstain from sexual activity for three months before donating blood, the Associated Press reported. The proposed rule change would be a major shift in a decades-old policy set during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s.

    Instead of requiring three months of abstinence for men who have sex with men, the FDA will make all potential donors fill out a personalized questionnaire that evaluates each person's risks for HIV before they can donate blood.

    "We will continue to work to make sure we have policies that allow everyone who wants to donate blood to be able to donate blood, within what the science allows to keep the blood supply safe," said the FDA's Peter Marks, according to The Wall Street Journal.

    During the 1980s AIDS crisis, the U.S. barred gay men from donating blood in an effort to prevent the spread of HIV, the sexually-transmitted virus that can lead to AIDS if not treated before it develops. Gay and bisexual men account for nearly 70% of all new HIV diagnoses in the U.S., according to 2019 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    The FDA's newly drafted guidance comes after medical associations have said that technological advancements in testing have made the extra requirements for gay and bisexual men unnecessary. The move also comes after continued calls for change from LGBTQ advocates.

    The FDA lifted the complete ban on gay men donating blood in 2015, requiring them to abstain from same-sex intercourse for a full year before donating. Then, the FDA dropped the abstinence period for blood donations from gay men to three months as the country grappled with a blood shortage resulting from complications of the COVID pandemic, the Journal reported.

    Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, told the Journal that the newest change in the FDA's guidelines "marks a monumental shift and ends a long and painful era of blanket discrimination against gay men."

    The FDA's updated guidelines will continue to bar those who have tested positive for HIV and those who are taking HIV medication from donating blood, and blood donation centers must test all blood for HIV and other diseases.

poll#164
It has been far too many years since the Woke theology interlaced its canons within the fabric of the Indoctrination Realm, so it is nigh time to ask: Does this Representative Republic continue, as a functioning society of a self-governed people, by contending with the unusual, self absorbed dictates of the Woke, and their vast array of Victimhood scenarios?
  Yes, the Religion of Woke must continue; there are so many groups of underprivileged, underserved, a direct result of unrelenting Inequity; they deserve everything.
  No; the Woke fools must be toppled from their self-anointed pedestal; a functioning society of a good Constitutional people cannot withstand this level of "existential" favoritism as it exists now.
  I just observe; with this thoughtful observation: What will happen "when the Vikings are breeching our walls;" how do the Woke react?
844 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?

Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




No Duh: Federal Lawmakers Shouldn’t Be Allowed To Buy And Sell Stocks Daily Wire, Guest Editorial, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics Body Cam Footage Released Showing Tyre Nichols’ Beating By Police


HbAD0

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

President Joe Biden took direct aim at Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during a recent interview, referring to him simply as “the guy who likes to spend a lot of time on yachts.”
The best way the county and city can help hold down inflation is to resist all tax increases
Pope Francis lambasted leftist gender ideology during an address this week, warning that it presented an extreme danger to mankind.
amnesty would just encourage more illegal aliens to storm our borders
The Christmas candy was barely off the shelves when the Valentine’s candy appeared. Red and pink hearts with caramel and nut-filled chocolate goodness caught our eye. We are reminded of how we love love. Young love, especially.
far left sugar daddy has also funded anti-Israel groups and politicians in US
Be careful what you wish for, you may get it
America needs to wake up and get its priorities right

HbAD1

Former President Donald Trump suggested this week that if he becomes president again, he might allow Prince Harry to be deported.
It's a New Year, which means it's time to make resolutions — even for prominent evangelical leaders. The Babylon Bee asked the following well-known figures in the faith what they hope to accomplish in 2024:
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit a Minnesota Planned Parenthood clinic, reportedly the first time a president or vice president has visited an abortion facility.
An eight-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville has been temporarily closed due to a string of “human and bear interactions,” the National Parks Service announced.
University of Wisconsin tried to punish conservatives for the fact that liberals regularly commit crimes to silence opposition
most voters think EU officials not doing a good job on illegal immigration
Come from behind by GOP candidate is a blueprint to 2024
Biden spending and energy policies to blame

HbAD2

 
Back to Top