WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, June 28, 2016, at 11:00am ET, the National Gay Blood Drive, Equality Federation, and PCCC hosted a media call with Reps. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Alan Grayson (D-FL) urging the FDA to lift the requirement that gay and bisexual men be celibate for a year before donating blood.
More than 130 members of Congress have signed onto letters asking the Commissioner of the FDA to remove the requirement since the tragedy in Orlando. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) are leading the effort in the Senate and Reps. Jared Polis (D-CO), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Mike Quigley (D-IL) are leading the effort in the House.
The grassroots petition by NGBD, EqFed, and the PCCC has tens of thousands of signatures, and it says: “Lift the ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men. Scientific evidence does not support this ban. Screen based on behavior, not sexual orientation.”
In December, the FDA lifted the lifetime ban on gay men donating blood and instituted the one-year celibacy requirement. Now members of Congress and the public are teaming up and calling for equal rules for all blood donors.
According to a study published in the Columbia Medical Review, the one-year celibacy requirement is outdated and ignores the fact that all blood donations are thoroughly tested using the latest technology and scientific advancements. The AIDS Research Institute calls the policy discriminatory and “not really supported by the facts.” Over 4.2 million eligible blood donors are affected by the requirement.
