As states began mandating stay-at-home orders in response to the quickly spreading coronavirus, thousands of blood drives across the country were cancelled. The American Red Cross are now facing a severe shortage of blood and are urging healthy individuals to donate.
Blood donations are more critical than ever and so important in helping save people’s lives. However, even during this nationwide scarcity there is still a discriminatory ban against gay and bisexual men in order for them to be able to donate blood or plasma.
The ban was initially introduced in the early 1980s at the height of the AID’s crisis, and stipulated that any many man who had ever had sex with another man would be barred from ever donating blood. This ban was put into effect by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in an extreme effort to stop the spread of HIV as well as Hepatitis B and C.
In May of 2015, the FDA revised its guidance by recommending that gay and bisexual men may be allowed to donate blood but only if they have refrained from sex with another man for 12 months.
As shutdowns got harsher and more heavily regulated, The American Red Cross lost around 86,000 blood donations. Blood drives prompted large donor turn out across the country and made up 80 percent of their annual blood donations. As of April 2, the FDA issued another update to the donor deferral recommendation, changing the time of abstinence for queer men from 12 months to three months, which is now in effect.
While this is a big step for many in the LGBTQ community, the fact that there remains any deferral at all is unsatisfactory. The American Public Health Association (APHA) have argued against this ban because it has never been backed by scientific evidence and was created out of fear and a stigma against gay men. In a comment made by the APHA, they noted that, “blood donation eligibility should not be determined by methods that are based upon sexual orientation.”
Interestingly, it has been estimated that if the ban were to be eradicated altogether, there would be upwards of 360,000 additional male donors. The problem is that The American Red Cross is in need of those donations now, and it will not be as pertinent if those members of the gay community start showing up in three months or longer.
In fact, if the deferral for men who have sex with men (MSM) was not currently in place, the amount of potential donors would be more than four times the amount of donations that have been lost due to COVID-19.
No matter your sexual orientation, it is of the highest priority right now to give blood if you are not currently at risk of having the virus. The American Red Cross has implemented new measures to ensure their donation centers are clean and safe for all donors and staff.
People’s lives are at risk due to this pandemic, but there are still thousands of people who are vulnerable due to separate diseases, accidents, and surgeries. Donating blood helps save lives, and it is important to remember that the coronavirus is not the only threat that faces citizens and their families.