Repeal the ban on blood donations from men who have had sex with men

Repeal the ban on blood donations from men who have had sex with men

The Issue

Given recent technological developments in safely testing blood, the lifetime deferral on blood donations from men who have had sex with other men is outdated, unnecessary, and discriminatory. This policy causes hundreds of thousands of otherwise eligible donors to be turned away from helping save lives. We call on the FDA to cease its discriminatory practice of rejecting these blood donors, and put in place a more effective blood screening policy based on risk behaviors, rather than identifying factors.

This petition had 234 supporters

The Issue

Given recent technological developments in safely testing blood, the lifetime deferral on blood donations from men who have had sex with other men is outdated, unnecessary, and discriminatory. This policy causes hundreds of thousands of otherwise eligible donors to be turned away from helping save lives. We call on the FDA to cease its discriminatory practice of rejecting these blood donors, and put in place a more effective blood screening policy based on risk behaviors, rather than identifying factors.

The Decision Makers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration

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