Advocates say donating blood is not inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Red Cross now accepts blood donations from gay men. In May the Federal Drug Administration ended its policy that prevented many gay men from donating blood, allowing the Red Cross to end its own policy. 

The executive director of the Fairness Campaign, Chris Hartman, said it is a good start.

“This is an important step in the right direction,” Hartman said. He said the FDA needs to go even further.

“The deferral for different types of sex. All of these gaps in the current policies, still unfortunately, leave so many gay, bi- and queer men out,” he explained. 

Previously, the FDA and Red Cross did not accept blood from men who had sex with men because of fears of spreading HIV. The FDA still isn’t allowing people to donate if they are on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PReP), a medication that is intended to prevent HIV.

“Why do we want people to stop medication that is preventing HIV that makes no sense,” Hartman said. 

That means donating blood is still not 100% inclusive, Hartman said, because many gay, bi, and queer men are on the medication.

“That continues to add to the stigmatizations of the LGBTQ+ community in terms of these of blood donation policies,” he said. 

Hartman said he believes the remaining discriminatory policies are because the FDA just doesn’t fully understand the LGBTQ+ community.

“This is just how bureaucracy works. I think this was an oversight. I think they needed more education and more time to think through some of this stuff,” Hartman said.

The Red Cross is no longer asking donors if they are gay or bisexual, but they said they recognize that there is still more work to be done, so even more people can donate.

“We need to collect more data to make sure that those people in the future can donate blood because they are protecting themselves and we are doing what we want them to do. They are protecting themselves and trying to keep themselves safe, so we do recognize that there is more progress to be made,” Red Cross Regional Communications Manager Remy Kennedy said. 

The Fairness Campaign and other groups are going to continue pushing so everyone is fully included. “This is not a bookend to this period of discrimination for LGBTQ people,” Hartman said. 

Hartman said it will likely take years to climb over the next hurdle.