The FDA announced Tuesday it would begin a review of its policy on blood donations from gay men. But many members of the LGBTQ community are still upset about being turned away when they tried to donate blood following the terrorist attack at a gay nightclub in Orlando.
The agency recently ended its 30-year old policy of a lifetime ban on gay blood donors. However, gay men can not donate blood unless they have been celibate for 12 months.
The Gay Alliance hosted a blood drive at the American Red Cross headquarters on Delaware Avenue Wednesday to raise awareness of the policy. Blood is Blood founder Jordan Moll-Vigrass said it's time for the FDA to end its "archaic" policies.
"Reviewing the policy is not going to change it. They've been saying this for multiple years," said Moll-Vigrass. "They do want to introduce a more in-depth screening process instead of questionnaires. We have so much testing available to us, we should be taking science-based information instead of a piece of paper with a bunch of questions on it."
Matthew Crehan Higgins, executive director of The Pride Center of Western New York, says much has changed since HIV was first discovered.
"It's based on a time when very little was know about HIV and HIV transmission. It was made by the FDA with a best guess based on trends when there was no available test, when there was nothing known about treatment, when there was no effective treatment." said Crehan Higgins. "Since that time, we know a tremendous amount about how HIV is transmitted from one person to another."
The American Red Cross issued a written statement saying the agency support the FDA's one-year deferral and that safety is its top priority.
