San Francisco Chronicle: Feds take new look at gay blood-donor ban

[Heidi]

Thursday, June 10, 2010

A federal advisory committee is set to begin hearings today to consider lifting its long-standing policy banning men who have had sex with men from giving blood.

The prohibition, which has been in place since the mid-'80s, was intended to protect the blood supply from being tainted with the virus that causes AIDS. But proponents of changing the rules say improved testing methods make the current standards seem outdated. In addition, they say that screening techniques may not rule out other potentially risky donors, making the ban singling out gay and bisexual men unfair.

Under the current rules, any man who has had sex with a man since 1977, the year HIV was believed to have reached the United States, are excluded from donating blood.

"We recognize there's some inconsistency," said Dr. Kim-Anh Nguyen, medical director of Blood Centers of the Pacific, which provides blood and blood components to hospitals, doctors and patients in Northern California. "For instance, a woman who has sex with a man who's known to have AIDS will get a 12-month deferral and a man who's had sex - even once since 1977 - would be deferred for life."

For that reason, the American Association of Blood Banks and the American Red Cross have agreed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ban is unwarranted and recommend a one-year period of abstinence by gay and bisexual men. They say the one-year waiting period offers enough time to screen out blood infected with HIV.

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