The FDA said it “strongly believes” the new policy will not hurt the safety or availability of the nation’s blood supply.
Currently, men who have sex with men must abstain from sex for three months before giving blood. The new policy still limits people who have certain risk factors — such as a history of non-prescription injection drug use, those who have exchanged sex for money or drugs, or those who previously tested HIV-positive from donating.
It also limits blood donation by people who are taking medicine to prevent HIV infection, such as antiretroviral therapy, pre-exposure prophylaxis and post-exposure prophylaxis. “The FDA has worked diligently to evaluate our policies and ensure we had the scientific evidence to support individual risk assessment for donor eligibility while maintaining appropriate safeguards to protect recipients of blood products,” Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.
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