- 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.
