Dem reps protest FDA blood ban: A drop of common sense

Our nation’s blood supply is facing a serious shortage. The American Red Cross, the single largest provider of blood in the United States, reports difficulty maintaining an adequate blood supply from a shrinking pool of eligible donors. As a result, cancer patients, those in need of organ transplants, and trauma victims in our emergency rooms don’t have access to the life-saving transfusions they need. Despite this shortage that costs us American lives every day, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has refused to lift—or even adjust—its antiquated and discriminatory ban which prohibits gay and bisexual men from donating much-needed blood.

Current policy prohibits any man who has had sex with another man (MSM)—even once since 1977—from donating blood. This regulation dates to the early 1980s when the AIDS virus was still a terrifying mystery to health officials, policymakers, and the general public. But even as education and technology have changed our collective attitude toward HIV, this policy remains steeped in bigotry and misinformation.

Today’s policy prohibits friends and family from saving the lives of loved ones, even while 21st century testing for the virus has made the donation process safe and secure for both donors and recipients. The FDA also maintains less restrictive deferrals for other high-risk groups, such as the one-year waiting period for heterosexual men and women who have had sexual contact with an HIV-positive partner. The inconsistency only serves to reinforce stereotypes about the HIV virus and the MSM community.

A consensus to reform the FDA’s ban has been building. The Red Cross, the American Association of Blood Banks, America’s Blood Centers, the American Medical Association, and others have advocated changing the current policy for MSM donors for years.

The discussion surrounding a move toward a more equitable and progressive policy has primarily focused on replacing the lifetime ban on MSM with a shorter deferral period. These guidelines have been adopted by countries including Argentina, Australia, and Japan, which allow MSM blood donations so long as those donating have abstained from sexual activity for anywhere from 12 months to five years.

However, our ultimate goal is to reform the FDA’s blood donation policy to reflect the risk of all individuals based on behavior—not sexual orientation. A gay man who consistently practices safe sex with a monogamous, HIV-negative partner carries a minimal risk of HIV infection. Just as the heterosexual community is not a homogenous group with uniform behavior and associated risks, neither is its LGBT counterpart.

The more appropriate alternative is to determine donor eligibility based on objective, behavior-based screens for all individuals, as they have done in Italy, Spain and France. These countries have reported consistent declines in transfusion-related HIV transmission since they instituted policy changes. This system would simply defer those demonstrating recent high-risk sexual behavior, while allowing healthy, eligible donors to contribute to our life-saving blood supply.

A single set of criteria applicable to all donors would also screen for actual risk, rather than group-based classifications. Further, such a policy would continue to ensure a safe and adequate blood supply, de-stigmatize gay and bisexual men, and provide an opportunity to educate prospective donors of all sexual identities on HIV prevention and safe sexual practices.

Leading up to California’s infamous 1978 Proposition 6 vote to bar gays and lesbians from working in public schools, Harvey Milk told Californians that he was tired of the myths and tired of the distortion. As a Health and Human Services committee meets to discuss blood safety this week, so are we.

An exhaustive FDA review of America’s blood donation policies is long overdue. As members of Congress, we pledge to work with our colleagues to extend equality, build a broader base of potential blood donors, and safely increase the nation’s blood supply.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA)
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO)
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL)
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)