US moves to end ban on blood donations by gay men

Washington: Federal health officials are recommending an end to the nation's lifetime ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, a 31-year-old policy that many medical groups and gay activists say is no longer justified.

The Food and Drug Administration said today it favors replacing the blanket ban with a new policy barring donations from men who have had man-on-man sex in the previous 12 months. The new policy would put the US in line with other countries including Australia, Japan and the UK.

Activists, however, questioned whether requiring a year of celibacy from gay men before a donation amounted to a significant policy shift.

The lifetime ban dates from the early years of the AIDS crisis and was intended to protect the blood supply from what was a then little-understood disease. But many medical groups, including the American Medical Association, say the policy is no longer supported by science, given advances in HIV testing.

Gay activists say the ban is discriminatory and perpetuates negative stereotypes.

The agency will recommend the switch in draft guidelines early next year and move to finalize them after taking comments from the public, FDA officials told reporters. FDA Deputy Director Dr Peter Marks declined to give a time frame for completing the process but said, "we commit to working as quickly as possible on this issue."

Marks said some of the most compelling evidence for changing the policy comes from Australia, which put in place a one-year ban on donations over a decade ago. Recently published studies showed no change in the safety of the blood supply after making the switch.

Additionally, studies conducted by the US government suggest gay and bisexual men are actually more likely to abide by donation guidelines under a 12-month prohibition period.

All blood donors take a questionnaire about their health and sexual behavior, but some gay men reportedly answer inaccurately to donate blood.

All US blood donations are screened for HIV but the test only detects the virus after it's been in the bloodstream about 10 days. Still, FDA officials said current research does not support reducing the donation ban below one year.

According to government figures, men who have had sex with other men represent about 2 per cent of the US population, yet account for at least 62 per cent of all new HIV infections in the US.