Blood bank director welcomes FDA blood donation change that will affect members of LGBTQ community

The announcement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that it has finalized risk-based guidelines for blood donation related to sexual activity is being welcomed by the longtime director of the Blood Bank at Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigan's academic medical center. 

"The FDA guidance on individualized risk assessment of blood donors is an important step forward in assuring availability of blood for our patients while maintaining the highest level of safety," said Robertson Davenport, M.D., director of transfusion medicine and professor of pathology. 

"The FDA is making changes to how blood donors are screened based on high quality scientific evidence. Since the first implementation of indefinite deferral of men who have sex with men (MSM) there have been great strides made in donor testing and in the understanding of epidemiology of HIV. We now know that there are many MSM who are very low risk. Alternatively, we know that there are other donors who are at increased risk of HIV who were no covered under the previous deferral, such as heterosexuals with a new sexual partner and those who engage is certain sexual activities. The new individualized risk assessment more clearly focuses on potential donor who are at risk and allow for donation by low risk individuals regardless of sexual orientation. This is an important step forward in increasing blood donations."

Learn more about the Michigan Medicine Blood Bank, which recently moved to a new state-of-the-art space in University Hospital. 

Davenport encourages all would-be blood donors who previously had been ineligible to donate under the former guidelines to monitor sites such as the American Red Cross page for the LGBTQ community for updates on when they may begin donating under the new guidelines.