With the nation's blood supply in shortage due to the coronavirus, the FDA recently eased restrictions on gay men donating blood. The letter argues those new rules are still too restrictive.
But the attorneys general — all Democrats, from California, Michigan, Virginia and nine other states — argue that the shorter wait doesn't go far enough. Targeting gay and bisexual men is discriminatory, they say. Instead, blood donors should be screened based on risky behavior, as it is in other countries.
"The revised guidance still precludes many LGBTQ Americans from fully contributing to the blood shortages while still requiring a waiting period for healthy individuals," they write.at UCLA estimating that completely lifting the ban on gay men would produce 300,000 pints of blood annually, which could save a million lives.
Another problem they cite: The new three-month waiting period prevents gay and bisexual men who have recovered from COVID-19 from donating plasma to treat others who are infected with the coronavirus. Preliminary studies suggest the treatment can improve recovery from COVID-19.
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