LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers can begin donating blood next week

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Donating blood will soon become more inclusive, as the New York Blood Center (NYBC) on Monday will welcome blood donors from the LGBTQIA+ community based on a new screening policy focusing on individual donor risk and not sexual identity, the organization announced this week.

The NYBC is making the announcement following a summer of low donor turnout. Contributing to the shortage are the recent Labor Day holiday, back-to-school activities and a prolonged 50% decrease in youth and first-time donors.

It reflects recent changes to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) policy, which eliminates time-based deferrals and screening questions specific to men who have sex with men (MSM) and women who have sex with MSM.

All U.S. blood centers are regulated by the FDA and must adhere to its donor eligibility policies.

Some donors may still be deferred. Under the FDA’s most recent guidance, all prospective blood donors will answer a series of individual, risk-based questions. Those who report having a new sexual partner, or more than one sexual partner in the past three months, or anal sex in the past three months, will be deferred to reduce the likelihood of donations by individuals with new or recent HIV infection. Additionally, those taking medications to prevent HIV infection may be asked to defer as well.

Statistically, anal sex has a significantly higher chance of HIV transmission per sex act than vaginal or oral sex, the NYBC stated. This does not account for individuals’ safe sex practices, such as condom use, but is built on an evidence-based approach to overall risk.

“For decades, we have strongly advocated for scientifically-based changes to the FDA policies about men who have sex with men (MSM), and we fully support the shift to individual donor assessment to determine eligibility,’’ the NYBC said in its announcement of the change.

The region’s blood supply is well below the optimal five to seven days, and while all blood types are needed, types O+, O-, B- and platelets are critically low. The situation is not unique to New York, as blood shortages are happening across the country, with multiple centers urgently calling for blood donations, according to the NYBC announcement.

On Monday, Sept. 18, NYBC will implement the new donor screen process that will focus on individual donor assessment.

In preparation for this change, NYBC has completed the adoption of the donor history questionnaire, updated and validated computer systems regulated by the FDA, trained staff, and updated operational procedures, its announcement said.

In 1983, the FDA instituted a lifetime deferral on blood donations for gay and bisexual men in order to reduce the chance of HIV in the blood supply at a time when testing was limited or non-existent.

In 2015, the FDA revised this policy and moved to a 12-month deferral for men who have sex with men in response to comprehensive testing capabilities and data demonstrating safety in shortened deferral. This policy was revised again in 2020 to the current three-month deferral.

The change is based on data from the “Assessing Donor Variability And New Concepts in Eligibility” (ADVANCE) Study, which sought to determine if different eligibility criteria could be used focusing on each donor’s individual risk behavior rather than their sexual orientation.

Founded in 1964, NYBC is a non-profit organization that is one of the largest independent, community-based blood centers in the world.