Sign the petition: Demand the FDA end unjust blood donation rules for gay and bisexual men
the FDA
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hopes to combat a severe shortage in blood supply by changing donation guidelines aimed at gay and bisexual men.
Since 2015, the FDA required “men who have sex with men” to abstain from sex for a year before donating blood. In April 2020, that time period was reduced from a year to three months.
But this homophobic ban still unjustly targets gay and bisexual men, and denies many trans women and nonbinary people from donating as well.
The original policy, enacted in 1983 at the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, instituted a lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood. It took decades of pressure for the FDA to end the lifetime ban.
Even the updated three month policy restricts gay and bisexual men on the basis of identity rather than behavior. A fair policy would assess one’s risk for HIV based on safe sexual behavior and would apply to every donor.
As the coronavirus causes a massive shortage in blood drives and blood supply, the agency recognizes the need for all potential donors to give blood. We cannot afford to limit the blood supply based on homophobic stigma. The FDA must stop upholding discriminatory bans against gay and bisexual men.
Sign the petition: Tell the FDA to finally end the homophobic ban on blood donations by gay and bisexual men.
Since 2015, the FDA required “men who have sex with men” to abstain from sex for a year before donating blood. In April 2020, that time period was reduced from a year to three months.
But this homophobic ban still unjustly targets gay and bisexual men, and denies many trans women and nonbinary people from donating as well.
The original policy, enacted in 1983 at the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, instituted a lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood. It took decades of pressure for the FDA to end the lifetime ban.
Even the updated three month policy restricts gay and bisexual men on the basis of identity rather than behavior. A fair policy would assess one’s risk for HIV based on safe sexual behavior and would apply to every donor.
As the coronavirus causes a massive shortage in blood drives and blood supply, the agency recognizes the need for all potential donors to give blood. We cannot afford to limit the blood supply based on homophobic stigma. The FDA must stop upholding discriminatory bans against gay and bisexual men.
Sign the petition: Tell the FDA to finally end the homophobic ban on blood donations by gay and bisexual men.
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To:
the FDA
From:
[Your Name]
In the face of a severe blood supply shortage, we cannot uphold homophobic guidelines against gay and bisexual men and other LGBTQ people. Blood donation rules should be based on behavior, not identity. Lift the three month abstinence rule for gay and bisexual men now.