FDA lowers deferral period for gay, bisexual men wanting to give blood amid shortage

This is where scienceideology. Reals>feels. Gay and bisexual men are far more likely to be infected by HIV than heterosexual men and especially far more than gay/bi or heterosexual women. Its not discriminatory to say that. Gay/bi men are around 2-5% of the population but constitute over 50% of those currently living with HIV. The testing protocols try to restrict those who are most likely to be exposed to HIV because testing isn't perfect and we've seen the blood supply get contaminated as a result.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 1.2 million people living with HIV (PLWH) in the United States, and approximately 40,000 people were diagnosed with HIV in 2015 alone. While the annual number of new diagnoses fell by 19% between 2005 and 2014, progress has been uneven.

For example, gay and bisexual men made up an estimated 2% of the U.S. population in 2013 but 55% of all PLWH in the United States. If current diagnosis rates continue, 1 in 6 gay and bisexual men will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. For Latino and Black men who have sex with men, the rates are in 1 in 4 and 1 in 2, respectively.

https://www.hrc.org/resources/hrc-issue-brief-hiv-aids-and-the-lgbt-community

/r/news Thread Parent Link - hdh.com