Yet somewhat ironically, says Custer, being on PrEP-proper use of which almost completely prevents HIV-could very well be a donation disqualifier or at least deferral.
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The individual approach is how all groups but gay and bisexual men are currently screened for donation acceptability. That policy holds even if they are, say, in a monogamous long-term relationship with another HIV-negative man. Potentially, says Custer, the study findings could lead to a revised FDA policy in which gay and bisexual men are allowed to donate blood-based on, say, how many sex partners they’ve had in the past x months, and what kind of sex they had, rather than the current policy that makes all gay men go three months without sex before donating. The study will then ask participants such questions as how many sex partners they have, or have had if they are on, or ever have been on, PrEP or PEP (short-term HIV meds to prevent HIV infection after possible exposure) what kind of sex they have (anal, oral, etc.) if they’ve ever injected drugs and if they’ve ever exchanged sex for money or drugs.
#Can gay men donate blood new york full
Gay and bisexual men who test positive for HIV will be given full counseling, linkage-to-care services, and will still be part of the study. According to Custer, gay and bisexual men who enroll in the study will agree to a baseline blood test to confirm their HIV status and whether they are on the HIV-prevention regimen PrEP. The FDA says that the age limit for the study is 39 years old because gay and bisexual men ages 18 to 39 make up the age bracket with the highest HIV prevalence. But they said, “The FDA remains committed to considering alternatives to time-based deferral by helping to generate the scientific evidence that is intended to support an individual risk assessment–based blood donor questionnaire.” In an email reply, the FDA told TheBody that they did not know how soon after that they might unveil a donation policy change for gay and bisexual men, if at all.
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According to Brian Custer, Ph.D., M.P.H., the study’s principal investigator in San Francisco, the study is halfway to its goal of enrolling 2,000 gay and bisexual men by July and would like to submit final data to the FDA by the fall. cities: Washington, D.C., Memphis, Atlanta, Orlando, New Orleans/Baton Rouge, Miami, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The study is currently enrolling gay and bisexual men ages 18 to 39 in eight U.S. In fact, the FDA is funding the ADVANCE study of HIV-negative gay and bisexual men to determine if an individualized approach is feasible, and exactly what screening questions such an approach would ask. Such was the policy until April 2020, when amid an early-COVID-era blood supply shortage, the FDA reduced the no-sex period for gay and bisexual men to three months.Īnd now, as the COVID-era blood supply crisis worsens, it looks like at some point in the future, the FDA could eliminate the blanket deferral period on gay and bisexual men altogether-in favor of a policy that assesses them individually. In a critique of the loosened policy I wrote at the time for New York magazine, I joked, “I hope none of us will qualify.”īut my serious argument was that, now that we were in an age when all donated blood was rigorously screened for all known and serious pathogens, the blanket year-long deferral just did not make sense-especially when the FDA did not require the same sort of deferral from heterosexuals who reported having oodles of sex.