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"I talked to a gay man in East Nashville today who has survived COVID-19, and I asked him if the ban weren’t in place would you consider plasma donation and he said he would," said Sanders, "There are potential donors in Tennessee who would get turned away because of this unscientific, outdated FDA rule."
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"My call to action would be that the Congress of the United States will hold hearings on this rule and put pressure on the FDA to make this change," said Sanders.Īs the American Red Cross is pushing for more COVID-19 survivors to donate their antibodies to help sick patients, Sanders says some who are willing to help are being turned away. In April of this year, the FDA revised the abstinence period for gay men to donate blood or plasma from 12 months to three months in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.Ĭhris Sanders with the Tennessee Equality Project says this is a start but these guidelines are not created equal.
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The rule was replaced in 2015 with a regulation that requires a year of abstinence to donate blood. But gay men wanting to donate are being faced with hurdles.Ī donation ban started with a 1980s restriction in the height of the AIDS and HIV crisis, when the federal government created a lifetime ban on blood donations from gay men. People also can donate at community blood centers and hospital-based donor. According to the FDA guidelines, people who are intersex. Many people donate at blood drives at their places of work or at high schools, colleges, churches and other community organizations. Individuals who identify as female and have sex with a male may be eligible to donate blood if they meet all other blood donation criteria. The Federal Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability voted 9 to 6 against lifting the ban Friday. NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) - There are currently only a few treatments in helping to fight COVID-19, and one is antibodies from a Coronavirus survivor. Bloodmobiles (mobile blood drives on specially constructed buses) travel to many locations, making it easy for people to donate blood. A federal committee recommends maintaining the policy preventing gay men from donating blood in the United States, provoking disappointment and anger from gay activist groups.