

FDA set to make it easier for gay, bisexual men to donate blood
The FDA has proposed a new screening process that would ask people of all genders donating blood about their sexual history.
A lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood was instituted in 1985, when HIV was poorly understood, equating sexual orientation with being high risk for spreading HIV. Advocates have called for a scientific, individual risk assessment approach for donors for decades. Canada and the United Kingdom already have similar blood donation policies.
Reset hears from people affected by the lifetime ban about how they’re reacting to the news, and what stigmas remain.
GUESTS: Dr. Anu Hazra, infectious disease specialist at the University of Chicago
Jim Pickett, senior advisor with AVAC, Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention
Luke Romesberg, director of Youth Housing Program at the Center on Halsted
Jennifer Brier, professor of history and gender and women’s studies, UIC
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FDA set to make it easier for gay, bisexual men to donate blood
The FDA has proposed a new screening process that would ask people of all genders donating blood about their sexual history.
A lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood was instituted in 1985, when HIV was poorly understood, equating sexual orientation with being high risk for spreading HIV. Advocates have called for a scientific, individual risk assessment approach for donors for decades. Canada and the United Kingdom already have similar blood donation policies.
Reset hears from people affected by the lifetime ban about how they’re reacting to the news, and what stigmas remain.
GUESTS: Dr. Anu Hazra, infectious disease specialist at the University of Chicago
Jim Pickett, senior advisor with AVAC, Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention
Luke Romesberg, director of Youth Housing Program at the Center on Halsted
Jennifer Brier, professor of history and gender and women’s studies, UIC