Michael Shankle talks gay blood ban on Greater Boston
Michael Shankle, AIDS Action Committe’s Director of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Health, sat down with Emily Rooney of Greater Boston on Monday, July 19, 2010 to discuss the FDA’s ongoing ban on gay men donating blood.
In detailed terms, the ban not only affects gay-identified men, but any man who has had sex with another man since 1977. The ban was enacted in 1985 in the midst of the growing AIDS crisis in America. Since then, our understanding of HIV transmission, individual risk factors, and how to routinely screen blood donations for blood-borne infections, including HIV, has grown dramatically — so much so that there is no longer a sound, scientific basis for the blanket ban.
Back in June, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability voted 9-6 to maintain the policy, despite the fact that the American Red Cross, American Association of Blood Banks, Blood Centers of America, and other groups charged with maintaining the blood supply now back its repeal.
An estimated 89,000 pints of blood could be donated by gay men each year.
For recent news related to men who have sex with men (MSM) and HIV/AIDS, including this topic, visit the “Men Who Have Sex with Men” section of our HIV Health Library online. For information on Rapid HIV testing for gay/bisexual men in the Boston area, visit www.malecenter.org.
