LANSING, Mich. — Attorney General Dana Nessel voiced her support for a newly proposed blood donation policy that would lower barriers for the LGBTQ+ community.
The federal policy currently prevents gay and bisexual men from making blood donations in less than three months after having sex.
Nessel’s office calls the currently policy “outdated” and stigmatizing.
We’re told the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the state health department introduced a policy change in January that would opt for a risk-based approach that wouldn't discriminate blood donors of any group.
“Each day, the U.S. needs approximately 36,000 units of red blood cells, nearly 7,000 units of platelets, and 10,000 units of plasma. The COVID-19 pandemic depleted the blood supply down to record levels and the Biden Administration’s common-sense approach to screening donors can help replenish it,” says Nessel. “I stand with my colleagues in supporting the FDA and the U.S. Health and Human Services Departments in replacing the outdated gender- and sexuality-based donor screening with a risk-based approach.”
Nessel joined a coalition of 21 other attorneys general who demonstrated support for the new policy.
Read the joint letter below:
3-31-23 Multistate Comment Letter Re FDA Blood Donation by WXMI on Scribd
READ MORE: Organization explains why there is a blood donation emergency
