At a recent blood drive in downtown L.A., Los Angeles area resident Terry Brown was both excited — and nervous — to donate blood for the first time in decades.
It was Brown’s first time to give blood since the U.S. Food and Drug Association and American Red Cross relaxed its decades-old policy on how individual donors are assessed, making the questions more inclusive regardless of sexual orientation, sex or gender. The new rules took effect in early August.
“For myself, this is really an opportunity to reengage with the broader community of Los Angeles. I view giving blood as helping all of my fellow citizens; not only the LGBTQ community, and that’s an important thing to recognize,” Brown, 62, said. “I think we could have gotten here a little bit sooner, but I’m thrilled that we are here now.”
The last time Brown had given blood was in 1983, in his early 20s in L.A.
Now Brown helps organize blood drives regularly, as part of his role as a Chief Human Resources Officer with L.A. Care, a health plan provider serving over 2.9 million families in the region. On Tuesday, August 21, L.A. Care hosted its first blood drive since the policy was changed.
“This will be the first time in decades that I’ve been able to donate blood at my own blood drive, and I couldn’t be more excited,” said Brown before his morning collection appointment on Tuesday. “The criteria have, in my opinion, become more sensible given where we are with technology, and I’m thrilled that the FDA relaxed the guidelines…. they finally realized it was limiting donations from a giving community, a community that likes to give and support fellow citizens.”
For nearly four decades, guidance from the FDA banned most gay men from donating blood, regardless of health history — criteria many critics called discriminatory to the LGBTQ+ community. The policy was created early during the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the last century, when health officials estimated that 70% of people with HIV were gay or bisexual men. At that time, blood screenings and testing for HIV antibodies were very limited.
The updated guidelines do away with the requirement that men who have sex with men abstain from sex for at least three months before they can give blood, and eliminates questions based on sexual orientation. Instead, all interested donors have to answer a new “risk-based” questionnaire that evaluates individuals for HIV based on sexual history and other factors.
The relaxed policy will help provide needed supply, especially during the routine summer shortages at local blood banks, L.A. Care officials said. Low donations, especially during the summer months, have made it hard to keep hospitals stocked with lifesaving blood products for people with high-risk births, cancer, sickle cell disease, or traumatic injuries.
American Red Cross spokesperson Stephanie Grande said that the Red Cross needs to collect about 12,500 blood donations each day to meet the needs of patients at around 2,500 hospitals and transfusion centers nationwide. Fifteen units were collected at the L.A. Care drive on Tuesday.
“We’re now able to welcome more donors, and have a more inclusive donation process,” Grande said. “This change in policy is something that we’ve worked for decades of data collection, and assessments on transfusion safety. We recognize the hurt the previous policies had in restricting blood donations, and we know that this is just the first few steps in repairing our relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. We welcome everyone who wishes to be a part of this life-saving mission.”
Brown praised the advancement of blood testing and pre-screening technology, and said that these — plus the new guidelines — should encourage others to donate blood and save lives, no matter how busy people get.
“There’s nothing more important in helping our fellow citizens than providing the gift of life. We’re all part of this broader community, and one of the ways we can participate is by giving blood.”
For more information on L.A. Care and American Red Cross blood drives, visit lacare.org and redcross.org.
Source: Orange County Register
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