By Trend News Line 2024-06-16 11:32:25.
Federal government and advocates continue push to ease restrictions on tissue donations from gay men
In a bid to align guidelines for tissue donations from gay and bisexual men with those that apply to the rest of the population, advocates, lawmakers, and various groups have been calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce the deferral period from five years to 90 days. This would mean that a man who has had sex with another man would be able to donate tissue as long as such sexual activity didn’t occur within three months of his death.
The push for change has been led by Sheryl J. Moore, an advocate who has been campaigning since the death of her 16-year-old son in 2013. Moore’s son, Alexander “AJ” Betts Jr., was able to donate his internal organs to seven people, but his eyes were rejected due to a single question about his sexual orientation: “Is AJ gay?”
Moore, along with Dr. Michael Puente Jr., a pediatric ophthalmologist, started a campaign called “Legalize Gay Eyes” to raise awareness about the discriminatory policies that prevent gay men from donating certain tissues. Puente highlighted the nonsensical nature of the current patchwork of donor guidelines, particularly in light of advancements in HIV testing that can effectively identify low-risk donors.
Despite calls from advocates and lawmakers, the FDA has yet to act on changes to the tissue donation guidelines. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colorado, criticized the FDA for perpetuating stigma against gay men and called for policies to be based on individualized risk assessments rather than historic bias.
In recent years, the FDA has made some progress in easing restrictions on blood and organ donations from gay and bisexual men. The agency got rid of the “blood ban” in 2015 and replaced it with a policy that treats all prospective donors the same. However, the restrictions on tissue donations remain in place, leading to frustration among advocates who argue that these policies are unnecessary and discriminatory.
Advocates point out that corneas, for example, have a low risk of transmitting HIV and that current testing methods are highly effective at identifying potential infections. They argue that the five-year abstinence requirement for corneal donors who are gay or bisexual is not only outdated but also impractical, putting unnecessary burdens on grieving families.
The push to ease restrictions on tissue donations from gay men is part of a larger effort to ensure that FDA policies are based on scientific evidence and best practices rather than outdated prejudices. Advocates continue to call on the FDA to align guidelines for tissue donations with those for blood and organ donations, in order to ensure that all individuals who wish to donate tissue to save lives are able to do so..
fda urged relax decades-old tissue donation restrictions gay bisexual men urged relax decades-old tissue donation restrictions gay bisexual men.