Gay, bisexual men now able to donate blood following Red Cross, FDA’s new guidelines
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - After decades of what one Colorado doctor called a discriminatory policy, the American Red Cross adopted new federal guidelines that'll allow gay and bisexual men to donate blood effective Monday.
"This is definitely way overdue. This change has been a long time coming, and advocates, scientists, and doctors alike have been asking for this change for quite a while," said Dr. Sarah Rowan, an infectious disease doctor at Denver Health.
For decades, gay and bisexual men haven't been able to donate blood. According to CNN, that policy was created early in the AIDS epidemic.
"It was really a discriminatory policy that wasn't based on science. So now we've seen a really important shift that's much more evidence-based to look at activities as a risk for HIV rather than anything identity-focused being, you know, a rationale for keeping people from donating blood," said Dr. Rowan.
Now, the new policy removes barriers that prevent people who could be donating life-saving blood from doing so.
KRDO spoke with Drew Austin, a gay man living in Denver. He said he plans on joining the millions in the LGBTQ+ community who are going to give blood thanks to the updated rules from the Food and Drug Administration and the Red Cross.
"People at people are continuously shocked to know that I cannot give blood even if I wanted to."
Drew Austin is a gay man living in Denver. He joins millions more in the LGBTQ community, who are now able to give blood, thanks to updated rules from the Food and Drug Administration, and the Red Cross.
"It's something that I have been very aware of since I came out - and something that I think a lot of people are completely oblivious to," said Austin.
Now, when giving blood, a donor, regardless of their sexual orientation, will be asked the same questions about possible health risks.
"What's happened in the last three months, which could be a window period for HIV transmission in which a test might not show up as positive yet," explained Rowan.
You can view the full procedure for questions and guidelines on being a prospective donor, here.
Austin said this feels like a step in the right direction.
"More so, it's about this idea of seeing the disparity that has been around us and invisible for so long," said Austin.
Vitalant, one of the largest providers of blood in Colorado, says the earliest it will start accepting donations from the LGBTQ community is the end of summer -- but cannot give a specific date yet, as they continue to train their staff and make the official shift to the new process for blood donations.
To stay updated on when Vitalant will begin that eligibility, click here.
