ABOVE: Rep. Val Demings at the 2018 AFGE Legislative Conference. (Photo by Keith Mellnick, from Flickr)
ORLANDO | U.S. Rep. Val Demings (FL-10) introduced a bill Sept. 4 that would allow blood donations nationwide regardless of an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Science in Blood Donation Act of 2020 would require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revise its recommended guidance on reducing HIV transmission through blood donations. Current guidelines prevent men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood unless they have not been sexually active for at least three months.
“Every day, across the United States, donated blood marks the difference between life and death. There is no substitute,” said Demings in a press release. “Yet our country turns away thousands of healthy and willing blood donors based solely on their gender identity and sexual orientation. This policy is based on fear, sigma, and prejudice, not science. Expanding the donor pool by hundreds of thousands of healthy Americans would save lives every day in emergency rooms and hospitals around the country.”
The introduced legislation requires FDA guidelines be based on an assessment of current testing accuracy and individual risk-based analysis, rather than categorization. It would also require the FDA to revise the donor questionnaire based on an individual risk assessment of sexual behaviors upon which all donors are evaluated equally, without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Blood is never at higher demand than in an emergency. Orlando knows the pain of mass shootings, and discriminatory sexual orientation guidelines denied victims’ friends and families the opportunity to donate blood afterward,” Demings said, referencing the 2016 shooting at Pulse and the aftermath that prevented members of the LGBTQ community from donating blood at a time when it was most needed. “It’s time to move away from these archaic rules and ideologies. When we know better, we should do better. By basing our medicine on science, we can maximize our donor pool while keeping our blood supply safe.”
Demings took to Twitter to after the bill’s introduction, writing “This policy is based on fear, sigma, and prejudice, not science. Expanding the donor pool by hundreds of thousands of healthy Americans would save lives every day in emergency rooms and hospitals around the country.”
This policy is based on fear, sigma, and prejudice, not science. Expanding the donor pool by hundreds of thousands of healthy Americans would save lives every day in emergency rooms and hospitals around the country.
— Rep. Val Demings (@RepValDemings) September 4, 2020
U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (IL-5), who introduced the bill with Demings, echoed the Congresswoman’s call to end the discriminatory practice, especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“An arbitrary blanket ban, especially during a crisis, is simply unacceptable,” Quigley said in the press release. “This past year, awareness on this issue has continued to grow and this bill marks yet another important step in Congress’s fight for the full and equal treatment of all Americans.”
Dr. George A. Wallace, executive director for The LGBT+ Center Orlando, said he believes it is time for these laws to treat everyone equally.
“Through the continuation of enforcement of prohibiting blood donations by sexually active gay and bisexual men, stigmatization is still front and center and does not reflect the best science available,” Wallace said. “Modernization of the policy through the Science in Blood Donation Act of 2020 will ensure that the blood supply remains as safe as possible while maximizing the donor pool.”
