Gay congressman calls for FDA to change blood donation rules

WASHINGTON — Two days after the Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting, there's a push by lawmakers to change the rules on who can donate blood. 
 
The FDA bans gay and bisexual men from donating blood for a year after their last sexual encounter.

When someone wants to donate blood, they have to answer a questionnaire that includes questions about sexual history, drug use, and other questions that are designed to evaluate a donor.

Lawmakers say donor eligibility should be based on risk, not sexual orientation.

Illinois Democrat Mike Quigley calls the ban discriminatory.

“I know my gay friends in 30 year monogamous relationships who practice safe sex can’t give blood. Other straight guys I know who have multiple partners and don’t practice safe sex, they aren’t banned,” said Quigley.

They say questions about sexual history, drug use, and sexual activity should be asked of everyone, straight or gay.

"There are many married gay couples in monogamous relationships that represent no greater degree of risk than their straight counterparts," said Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colorado. 
 
Polis is openly gay and leading the charge to change the rules. 
 
"The blood of the gay victims of the Orlando shooting has washed away the veneer of this morally bankrupt policy that the FDA has to the detriment of our public health," said Polis. 
 
A lifetime ban was put in place in the 1980s during the AIDS epidemic. 
 
Last year, the policy was changed to ban gay and bisexual men who have had sex with another man in the past year.

"Gay people bleed red just as every other person in the world does," said Polis.
 
Lines snaked down sidewalks outside blood donation centers hours after the Orlando nightclub massacre that left 49 people dead and 53 injured. The LGBT community was angered that many friends and family of victims were not eligible to donate.
 
The lawmakers are collecting signatures from members of Congress on a letter to the FDA commissioner urging him to change the rules on gay donors.
 
The White House said there are no plans to update the FDA policy on blood donations.

Cox Media Group