DAYTON — The Community Blood Center has announced they are changing its donor risk assessment guidelines.
The blood center said the new guidelines ease decades-old restrictions that made it difficult for gay and bisexual men to donate blood.
The Food and Drug Administration updated its guidelines in May, making the questions asked to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted HIV the same for every donor regardless of sexual orientation.
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This eliminates questions specific to men who have sex with men (MSM) and women who have sex with MSM, according to the FDA.
“We welcome this change and are optimistic it will mean more donors joining our mission and safely providing the blood so essential to saving the lives of hospital patients across our region,” said CBC Vice President of Donor Services Tracy Morgan.
CBC said they expect to implement these guidelines by September as they work on training staff and updating procedures.
In the meantime, the current policy that requires gay and bisexual men to wait three months following their last sexual contact with another man to donate blood will remain in place.
For more information on donor requirements visit here.