A small step towards gender equality and sexual orientation. Following new instructions from health authorities, the American Red Cross is adopting new rules on Monday, ending blood donation restrictions that only affected gay men. Until now, gay men had to abstain from having sex for three months if they wanted to donate blood, including if they were in an exclusive relationship.
Now, “all donors will be required to answer the same eligibility questions, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, and will be assessed for blood donation based on individual risk factors,” the Red Cross said in a statement. This means “more potential donors” who can fulfill this “vital mission”, welcomed the organization. The American Red Cross provides approximately 40% of donated blood in the United States.
The meaning of history
The new instructions had been finalized in May by the American Medicines Agency (FDA). They are based on an individual risk assessment for each donor. From now on, anyone who has practiced anal sex with a new partner, or with several partners, in the previous three months, will have to wait before donating blood. People who have tested positive for HIV or are taking medication to prevent HIV infection continue to be unable to donate blood.
As the AIDS epidemic raged in the 1980s, the FDA imposed a total ban on gay men donating blood. This specific restriction had gradually been relaxed: from 2015, the duration of abstinence required for gay men wishing to donate blood was 12 months, then 3 months from 2020, a change which had been adopted in the midst of a shortage of donations linked to the Covid-19 health crisis.