🌈💉 No Moa Kine Ban on Blood Donations From Gay an’ Bisexual Men
🌈💉 No Moa Kine Ban on Blood Donations From Gay an’ Bisexual Men
Da Food an’ Drug Administration wen make known on Thursday dat dey went formally stop da agency’s full-on ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, one long time policy dat wen get plenty talk as discriminatory.
No moa, da F.D.A. stay finalizing guidance dat includes one questionnaire fo’ all donors dat get da aim fo’ learn about deir recent sexual activity. Da more targeted questions goin’ focus on if somebody wen have new or multiple sex partners and anal sex in da last three months. 📝📊
Potential donors who wen recently have sex unda dose screening criteria goin’ get turned away.
Da updated policy also would stop blood donations from people taking oral PrEP fo’ prevent H.I.V. infection, one restriction da agency said was designed fo’ avoid false-negative results during blood screening. 💊🚫
In da updated policy da F.D.A. wen take its hints from Canada an’ da United Kingdom, who wen adopt similar approaches. Da U.S. agency has been working on da change fo’ months and said it also wen review data from oddah nations and from one U.S. study looking into dis method. 🌍🔍
Why Dis Mattah: Get blood shortage Blood donations stay needed bad kine. Dey wen go down during and aftah da pandemic with da decrease in school- and office-based blood drives. 💉🏥
Da old rules wen be way more restrictive in screening out gay or bisexual men. Da update allows blood donation companies fo’ use a more evidence-based way fo’ reduce da risk of H.I.V. transmission while also maximizing donations.
“Dis shift toward individual donor assessments get priority fo’ da safety of America’s blood supply while treating all donors with da fairness and respect they deserve,” said Kate Fry, da big boss of America’s Blood Centers, which represents independent blood centers dat supply 60 percent of da nation’s donations. 🇺🇸🩸
Background: PrEP criteria wen get criticism GLAAD, one L.G.B.T.Q. advocacy group, wen clap hands for da change as an end to “one dark and discriminatory past rooted in fear and homophobia.” But da organization wen grumble about da F.D.A.’s decision fo’ turn away donors taking PrEP medications, saying da measure would add “unnecessary stigma.” 🏳️🌈👏
“Da bias all up in dis policy may, in fact, cost lives,” GLAAD wen say in one statement on Thursday.
Da agency wen say dat PrEP drugs were effective in reducing da spread of H.I.V. through sexual contact, but warned dat blood transfusions could carry a higher risk of infection.
“Even dough H.I.V. not transmitted sexually by individuals with undetectable viral levels, dis no apply to transfusion transmission of H.I.V. because a blood transfusion stay given intravenously, and a transfusion involves a large volume of blood compared to exposure with sexual contact,” da F.D.A. wen say in one news release on Thursday. 📰🔬
NOW IN ENGLISH
🌈💉 No More Ban on Blood Donations From Gay and Bisexual Men
The Food and Drug Administration announced on Thursday that they have officially ended the agency’s complete ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, a long-standing policy that has sparked discussions about discrimination.
No more, the FDA is finalizing guidance that includes a questionnaire for all donors aimed at learning about their recent sexual activity. The more specific questions will focus on whether someone has had new or multiple sex partners and engaged in anal sex in the last three months. 📝📊
Potential donors who have recently engaged in sexual activity under these screening criteria will be turned away.
The updated policy also prohibits blood donations from people taking oral PrEP to prevent HIV infection, a restriction the agency said was designed to avoid false-negative results during blood screening. 💊🚫
In the updated policy, the FDA took cues from Canada and the United Kingdom, who adopted similar approaches. The US agency has been working on this change for months and also reviewed data from other nations and a US study exploring this method. 🌍🔍
Why This Matters: Blood Shortage Alert Blood donations are in high demand. They decreased during and after the pandemic due to a decline in school- and office-based blood drives. 💉🏥
The previous rules were much more restrictive in screening out gay and bisexual men. This update allows blood donation organizations to use a more evidence-based approach to reduce the risk of HIV transmission while maximizing donations.
“This shift toward individual donor assessments prioritizes the safety of America’s blood supply while treating all donors with the fairness and respect they deserve,” said Kate Fry, the CEO of America’s Blood Centers, which represents independent blood centers supplying 60 percent of the nation’s donations. 🇺🇸🩸
Background: Criticism of PrEP Criteria GLAAD, an LGBTQ advocacy group, applauded the change as an end to “a dark and discriminatory past rooted in fear and homophobia.” However, the organization expressed concern about the FDA’s decision to turn away donors taking PrEP medications, stating that it would add “unnecessary stigma.” 🏳️🌈👏
“The bias embedded in this policy may, in fact, cost lives,” GLAAD said in a statement on Thursday.
The agency acknowledged that PrEP drugs are effective in reducing the spread of HIV through sexual contact but cautioned about the higher risk of infection during blood transfusions.
“While HIV is not sexually transmitted by individuals with undetectable viral levels, this does not apply to transfusion transmission of HIV because a blood transfusion is given intravenously, and it involves a large volume of blood compared to exposure through sexual contact,” the FDA stated in a news release on Thursday. 📰🔬
