FDA meeting revisits ban on gay blood donors

NATIONAL NEWS

FDA meeting revisits ban on gay blood donors
College students organize protest over current policy

By ANDREW KEEGAN
Friday, March 10, 2006

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration was scheduled to meet March 9 to hear arguments from organizations that want changes to a 23-year-old policy prohibiting gay men from donating blood.

During the onset of AIDS, no test was available to detect HIV in blood, and thousands of transfusion recipients became infected with the virus. In 1983, the FDA prohibited any man who had sex with another man even once since 1977 from donating blood.

The FDA conference on "Behavior-Based Blood Donor Deferrals in the Era of Nucleic Acid Testing" was set for March 9 in Bethesda, Md.

Officials with the American Red Cross, American Association of Blood Banks and America’s Blood Centers confirmed they would release a joint policy statement at the conference addressing the donor ban.

They declined to discuss their recommendation before the official announcement, but the alignment of the three groups suggested the Red Cross may be throwing its support behind a push to revise the nationwide ban.

Six years ago the Red Cross opposed efforts by the AABB and other blood banks to change donor eligibility for gay men to one year since their last sexual contact. The FDA Blood Products Advisory Committee considered a five-year ban, but voted 8-7 to side with the Red Cross lifetime ban.

An FDA spokesperson said this week the agency appreciates the desire of all individuals to donate blood, but the safety of the blood supply is a result of multiple layers of protection, including donor screening.

It is estimated that risk of contracting HIV from a unit of blood has been reduced to about one per 2 million units-—-almost exclusively through donations during the window period after infection with HIV but before the presence of antibodies detected by less-sensitive tests, according to FDA spokesperson Stephen King.

"Congress and the public have made it clear they expect the FDA to ensure the lowest risk feasible concerning transmission of serious infectious diseases by donated blood and blood components," King said March 7. "FDA policies to defer blood donors is based on certain risk behaviors, including males having sex with males, and on the best available scientific data."

Students plan protest

More than 20 collegiate gay student organizations across the country also are organizing to protest the FDA’s policy on gay male blood donors.

The goal of the "Fight to Give Life" campaign is to have gay men attempt to donate blood at area blood banks on April 5 and answer the screening questions truthfully, according to the group’s organizer.

"We hope to show the FDA that thousands of unnecessary healthy donors will be disqualified during a time when there is a national blood shortage," said Shawn Werner, a senior at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania.

The two-decade-old ban does nothing more than instill fear in young gay men, Werner said. "I lied when I first gave blood, at 17, because I was afraid to say ‘yes.’"

Dwayne Bensing, president of Pride at the University of Arkansas, echoed that sentiment.

"We have about four blood drives a year and the school sends out reminder e-mails that say ‘attention all students,’" Bensing said. "But the truth is all students don’t qualify."

To date, 22 schools have joined the campaign, including Boston University, Florida State, Ohio State, Princeton and the University of Pittsburgh.

ON THE WEB
Fight to Give Life
http://www.fighttogivelife.org