16 Senators Ask FDA to Lift Ban on Gay Men Donating Blood

Senators John Kerry (D-Massachusetts), Kirstin Gillibrand (D-New York), Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), Rolland Burris (D-Illinois), Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey), Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania), Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin), Mark Udall (D-Colorado), Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), Al Franken (D-Minnesota), Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), Carl Levin (D-Michigan), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), and Mark Begich (D-Alaska) have all signed a letter asking Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to rescind the ban, in place since 1983, which prohibits gay men from donating blood.

We write today to express our concerns regarding outdated, medically and scientifically unsound deferral criteria for prospective blood donors. With hospitals and emergency rooms across the country in constant and urgent need of blood products, we believe certain blood donor deferral policies should be reviewed and appropriately modified and modernized while ensuring the blood supply meets the highest possible standards that we all expect in America.

The American Red Cross, America's Blood Centers, and AABB reported before an FDA-sponsored workshop on March 9, 2006 that the ban on men who have had sex with other men (MSM), even once, since 1977 from ever donating blood "is medically and scientifically unwarranted." Then in 2008, the Council on Science and Public Health at the American Medical Association also advocated modifying the lifetime deferral requirement for MSM.

The Senators go on to address the double-standard that defers for only one year prospective straight donors "who have engaged in heterosexual sexual activity with a person known to have HIV" but bans male donors who have engaged in protected sexual activity with health partners for life. And they make note of how the blood supply could be made safer by revising the current policies, in addition to reversing the existing discriminatory policy.

The safety, availability, and integrity of our nation's blood supply are vital. For these reasons, we agree with the American Red Cross, America's Blood Centers, AABB, and others that the time has come for the FDA to modify the lifetime deferral for MSM to be consistent with sensible health and safety policy and with FDA deferral guidelines for high-risk heterosexual behavior. We request that you initiate a review of the lifetime deferral requirement for men who have sex with men wishing to donate blood and that you reexamine the deferral criteria for all blood donors to ensure all high-risk behaviors are appropriately addressed.

Thank you, Democratic/Independent (and only Democratic/Independent) Senators.