LGBTQ groups say reducing guidelines for gay blood donors doesn't go far enough

Lots of individuals from the LGBTQ community in Southern California keep in mind getting the letter. The one that said they were prohibited from donating blood for life.

" Yeah, I was prohibited about 15 or 20 years earlier," stated Frank Guzman on Feb. 21, a gay man who is co-founder, president and executive director of the Pomona Pride. "I went in with the intent to donate blood. Frank Guzman is a co-founder of the Pomona Pride Center on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019.
On Jan. 27, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which oversees the nation's blood supply, released draft guidelines that would allow gay men in monogamous relationships to contribute blood. The proposition is focused on increasing the variety of prospective blood donors and upping products while keeping a safe product.

Many see it as an effort to ease blanket constraints that were positioned during the 1980s AIDS epidemic on those who faced a possibly higher threat of spreading HIV.

The draft would eliminate a requirement for males who have sex with guys to avoid sex for a minimum of three months prior to being enabled to provide blood. Instead, all potential donors would be evaluated with a brand-new questionnaire that assesses their individual risks for HIV based on sexual habits, current partners and other factors.

" We feel confident that the safety of the blood supply will be preserved," FDA's Dr. Peter Marks told the Associated Press.

While the draft rule was supported by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in a letter to the FDA on Feb. 7, it has actually raised concerns and more opposition than support from the LGBTQ community, who state the FDA proposition doesn't erase the preconception placed on possible gay blood donors and maintains decades-old bans based on sexual orientation alone.

Among those questions is whether those who got deferral letters prohibiting them for life from offering blood will be allowed to donate under new standards. The issue was raised last month throughout a virtual meting with FDA officials, White House authorities and LGBTQ leaders throughout the country.

As a senior at Baldwin Park High School and an Associated Student Body member back in 2012, Camila Camaleon, at the time a gay male who is now a transgender female, keeps in mind being unable to provide blood at a school blood drive she organized as an 18-year-old.

After being inquired about her sexual partners, she was turned away. The next day she received a letter conjuring up a general restriction for life. "It was something that really impacted me," stated Cameleon, 28, the trans president of the San Gabriel Valley LGBTQ Center.

Cameleon, who participated in the call with the FDA, asked whether those like her and Guzman would get letters rescinding the restriction. She hopes the FDA will consider such a turnaround.

Guzman, who served on the Pomona Unified School District board of trustees from December 2011 to December 2020, constantly voted versus permitting Red Cross blood drives on school campuses, stating he didn't want to support discriminatory practices.

" There was no factor for me to try again. My blood was not welcome," Guzman stated, echoing the sensations of a lot of in the LGBTQ neighborhood today.

Joey Espinoza-Hernandez, director of policy and neighborhood building at the LGBT Center of Los Angeles, said that while the FDA is approaching taking apart the bias, they need to go further, consisting of reviewing lifelong restrictions on some people.

" Our recommendation is to entirely reverse the ban and trust the science," Espinoza-Hernandez stated on Feb. 21.

Gay rights groups have long opposed blanket constraints on who can provide blood, stating they are discriminatory. Medical societies including the American Medical Association have likewise said such exclusions are unnecessary provided advances in technology to check blood for infectious illness.

Dr. Michael Gottlieb, a personnel doctor at APLA Health (previously referred to as AIDS Project Los Angeles), has worked with AIDS clients since the start of the illness in the 1980s and was star Rock Hudson's medical professional. As a young researcher at UCLA in 1981, Gottlieb was the first to describe and determine AIDS as a new disease, which resulted in a group of researchers in France identifying the virus in 1983.

The Pasadena citizen was asked about the effort by the FDA to relieve constraints on blood contributions from males who make love with guys. He noted that blood utilized for transfusions has been evaluated for HIV since 1985.

Now, HIV testing is more advanced. Testers look for antibodies, antigens and the nucleic acid product unique to HIV, he said. Testing for nucleic acid is required due to the fact that the presence of antibodies could show up days or weeks after the presence of HIV.

" The testing is definitive. The science supports relaxing the restrictions," Gottlieb stated on Feb. 20.

Concerning the removal of the abstinence period to replace it with a list of questions, he said, "I can see where individuals still view the survey as stigmatizing.".

Under the new proposition, men who have sex with men will be asked if they have actually had numerous or new partners in the last three months. Those who respond to affirmatively to either concern and also report having anal sex would be disallowed from donating until a later date. The policy would also use to ladies who make love with gay or bisexual men.

Anybody who has ever evaluated positive for HIV would continue to be ineligible to contribute blood, as would those on anti-retroviral drugs.

Lambda Legal, a gay rights company that has actually long pushed to alter the FDA policy, welcomed the change.

" We believe these are excellent first steps in the right direction," stated Jose Abrigo, HIV task director for Lambda Legal who was born and raised in Los Angeles. "It removes the categorical limitation on guys who have sex with men on donating blood and goes to a risk-based assessment.

" But it is not just queer guys taking part in dangerous habits. It must be applied to everybody so it might be reasonable," he said on Feb. 20.

Guzman added, "This (guideline modification) doesn't deal with the main concern. You can have numerous partners no matter your sexuality. I understand numerous straight people who are good friends of mine that engage in promiscuous activity and contribute blood anytime they want.".

One rule the gay activists want changed is the blanket ban on anyone taking pills to avoid HIV through sexual contact, at least till three months after their last dosage. The FDA noted that the medication, called PrEP, can delay the detection of the infection in screening tests.

Gottlieb said he understood the prohibition for those on PrEP, since an individual might not always take the pill daily as prescribed, leaving him vulnerable to HIV direct exposure. Others say the unwritten criticism is that men on PrEP have lots of sexual partners.

Again, it is Guzman's experience that is not the case. "I know numerous people who become part of queer neighborhood who avoid sex but are on PrEP and now they are omitted (from offering blood)," he said.

Abrigo said prohibiting gay men who are utilizing an FDA-approved prescription to avoid contracting HIV sends the incorrect message. "We must not punish folks for taking part in safe sex practices," he stated.

Because the COVID pandemic started 3 years back, the country's blood supply has actually dropped substantially. The FDA and gay activist groups state the easing of constraints might bring in more blood donors and increase the country's blood supply.

Gottlieb, who dealt with LGBTQ patients before the AIDS break out, said numerous were regular blood donors. "Gay men as a group were generous blood donors. These were patients who regularly gave blood in the pre-AIDS period," he said. "They represent a significant percentage of the potential male blood donor pool.".

Abrigo sees an advantage to all if the changes are carried out.

" There is a blood scarcity in the United States. The more we can expand it, or make the aspects more inclusive without undermining the threat to the blood supply, the more useful to all," he said.

FDA regulators will take public talk about the proposal till the end of March before beginning to complete the standards.

The Associated Press added to this short article.