WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged further changes to the nation’s policies on blood donations from gay and bisexual men after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it will lift the lifetime ban on blood donation from gay and bisexual men in favor of a one-year deferral. The new policy would allow gay and bisexual men to donate blood after a year of abstinence. A strong supporter of LGBT equality, Senator Coons has long called for changes in blood and organ donation policies that are not based on science and enforce unjust stigma. Last Monday, Coons joined with 79 of his colleagues in the Senate and House in urging the federal government to replace the outdated and discriminatory lifetime ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men with a policy based on individual risk factors.
“It is long past time that our blood donation rules are updated to reflect science, rather than outdated fears,” said Senator Coons. “For more than 30 years, gay and bisexual men have been banned from giving blood simply because of whom they love. Our scientific and medical understanding of HIV and AIDS has advanced remarkably since the epidemic’s earliest days and our policies should reflect that fact. The FDA’s lifting of the lifetime ban on blood donation is a first step toward ridding our policies of discrimination and rooting them in science, but I remain concerned these changes do not solve the underlying problem. Moving from a system where we group all gay and bisexual men together to one where we consider each individual based on his unique risk factors would be more consistent with current scientific understanding and would do more to save lives and fight stigma. It is my hope that the FDA will consider further changes in the future.”
In July, Senator Coons celebrated Delaware participants of the National Gay Blood Drive, which gives gay and bisexual men the chance to bring qualifying heterosexual individuals to make a blood donation instead.
Last December, Senator Coons introduced legislation aimed at helping end the stigma, discrimination, and stereotypes that negatively impact Americans living with HIV/AIDS. The Repeal Existing Policies that Encourage and Allow Legal (“REPEAL”) HIV Discrimination Act would require an interagency review of federal and state laws that criminalize certain actions by people living with HIV. More on that is available here: http://1.usa.gov/1nlCY3h