FDA proposes individual risk assessment for donating blood

Editor's Note

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 27 announced that it is proposing to ease blood donation restrictions by focusing on behavior rather than gender and sexual identity.

Under current rules, the FDA allows donations from gay and bisexual men if they haven’t had sex with another man for 3 months.

In the new proposed guidance, the FDA would allow anyone to donate blood, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, as long as they haven’t engaged in certain sexual behaviors in the last 3 months.

The proposal is open for public comment for 60 days.