Good Question: Will the Kentucky Blood Center update their policies to allow more gay men to donate blood?

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – During the pandemic, the restrictions on gay men donating blood were loosened.

Earlier this year, the FDA removed even more restrictions. What does that mean for local blood banks?

For today’s good question, a viewer asked, “Earlier this year, the FDA updated the blood donation policy to allow more gay and bisexual men to donate blood. It is apparently up to blood centers to implement. The Red Cross has announced plans to do so. What about the Kentucky Blood Center?”

We asked Eric Lindsey with the Blood Center that question, and he told us they will also be making changes to their policy; it will just take a little time.

In 2015 the FDA eliminated the lifetime ban on donations from men who have sex with men. They switched to a one-year abstinence requirement.

In 2020, when donations dropped during the pandemic, the agency shortened the abstinence period to three months.

Earlier this year, they announced they would no longer screen based on sexual orientation or gender. Instead, they will use “individual risk-based questions to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted HIV. These questions will be the same for every donor, regardless of sexual orientation, sex or gender.” Those questions will focus on new or multiple sexual partners within the last three months.

Lindsey said they anticipate the new guidance going live at the Blood Center in early December.

If you have a Good Question you’d like us to try to answer, send it to [email protected].

Copyright 2023 WKYT. All rights reserved.