Photo By Lance Cpl. Shawn Valosin (https://www.dvidshub.net/image/1189257) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Gay Blood Donors : Eager to Help, but Face Barriers
Jack Turban, MD, a doctor of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, knows how lucky he is to have had only a mild case of COVID-19.
After getting through a cough, fatigue, and a splitting headache, the 30-year-old doctor was soon feeling back to normal.
«A few weeks into having symptoms, I saw the Journal of the American Medical Association case series that used convalescent plasma as an experimental treatment for COVID-19», he says to webmd.com. The idea of giving his own antibody-rich blood was appealing. «I briefly thought about donating, but quickly remembered the FDA’s deferral guidance».
Turban is referring to the FDA guidance that requires a 3-month abstinence period before men who have sex with men, as well as women who have sex with bisexual men, may donate blood.
Until April 2, that abstinence period was 12 months. But as blood donations dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA lowered that time frame by 9 months.
While it’s a step in the right direction, it’s not enough, say Turban to webmd.com