The FDA is planning to loosen restrictions on gay & bisexual men donating blood

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could soon loosen restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men.

Until 2015, men who had sex with men were banned from donating blood at all, a policy that began during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. In 2015, the FDA lifted the total ban but said gay and bisexual men could only donate blood if they had not had sex for a full year. That time frame was shortened to three months amid blood shortages during the pandemic.

Now, new FDA guidelines are reportedly in the works that would allow gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships to donate blood without abstaining from sex.

The decision was made based on a study to determine the effectiveness of individualized risk assessments, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

Gay and bisexual men who do seek to donate under the new policy will join all potential blood donors in being asked to…

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