bloodsense

College campuses around the United States have begun what has been referred to "a movement to bring common sense back into America's blood donation policy." Thanks to strong efforts from organizations such bloodsense.org, a movement started at Harvard University's Law School, America is starting to notice the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) policy that is restricted men who have sex with men (MSM) and their partners from donating blood. According to the Food and Drug Administration there is strong scientific evidence that supports the ban. According to the FDA's website explaining the ban "HIV prevalence in potential donors with history of male sex with males is 200 times higher than first time blood donors and 2000 times higher than repeat blood donors." But how accurate is this data? Some argue that the policy is outdated given that it was enacted during the U.S. AIDS epidemic nearly two decades ago.
Well-known blood donation organizations such as the the American Red Cross, the American Association of Blood Banks, and America's Blood Centers have all stated that the the FDA's blood ban is scientifically unwarranted. But given regulations enforced by the Food and Drug Administration all blood donations are required to uphold this policy.