As the coronavirus continues to change our lives minute by minute, guidelines for government organizations are continuously being updated.
The latest update comes from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as they updated their policy regarding blood donation from specific groups of people.
The new policy will see gay & bisexual men, as well as people who have recently been exposed to needles following a tattoo or piercing, be allowed to donate blood.
“We want, and we need healthy people — all healthy people — to give blood,” said Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams.
The cause of a decrease in blood supply is due to the coronavirus pandemic, causing blood drives around the country to be canceled.
Last month the Red Cross revealed that due to canceled blood drives, there were an estimated 86,000 fewer blood donations than expected in prior weeks.
Prior to the updated policy, the FDA didn’t allow blood donations from men who have had sex with other men within in the last months over fears and concerns of HIV. That rule also applied to women who have had sex with gay or bisexual men in the previous year. Lastly, both men and women who had come into contact with needles due to tattoos and piercings in the last year were ineligible as well.
With the new policy, the “disqualifying time period” was moved from 12 months to three months, ABC News reports.
The new three-month policy, joins other developed countries that have recently changed their guidelines like the United Kingdom.
The FDA expects these new policies to remain in place, after the coronavirus pandemic comes to an end, the outlet reports.
Previous rules & regulations prohibited key groups altogether until the 12-month limit was put in place in 2015.
According to experts, COVID-19 is not spread through blood contact.
Now, with the new policies set in place, tens of thousands of Americans are likely to donate, thus helping put an end to the shortage of blood supply.
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