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The Williams Institute previously estimated that if this ban were to be lifted, an additional 360,000 men would likely donate blood or plasma, which could help save the lives of more than a million people.Ī three-month blood or plasma donation ban is still discrimination. It is inappropriate and immoral to deny men the opportunity to help simply based on who their intimate partners may be. Adams urged Americans to give blood, as it is in critical need during the COVID-19 crisis. This convalescent plasma is being evaluated as treatment for patients with serious or immediately life-threatening COVID-19 infections, or those judged by a healthcare provider to be at high risk of progression to severe or life-threatening disease. People who have fully recovered from COVID-19 may have antibodies in their plasma that can attack the virus. The waiting period was then dropped to one year in 2016 and three months in 2019. This ban was amended in 2013 to allow men who have sex with other men to donate blood if they abstained for at least five years. The Red Cross is seeking people who are fully recovered from the new coronavirus to sign up to donate plasma to help current COVID-19 patients. Canada banned gay men from donating blood in 1992. For example, a gay man in a monogamous relationship would be at low risk of HIV acquisition, but still be banned from blood donation currently. Hear more Tennessee Voices: Get the weekly opinion newsletter for insightful and thought provoking columns. The FDA considered eliminating all restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, but concluded that would increase the transmission of HIV through the blood supply by 400 percent. The FDA needs to put science above stigma.
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The medical assumptions upon which it was originally justified have been debunked by leading health organizations for years now. This antiquated ban is not based on science but rather on fear.