Massachusetts Senator John Kerry
Thursday called on the FDA to end its lifetime ban on blood donated
by gay men.
Seventeen Democratic lawmakers joined
Kerry in asking FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to reverse its
policy.
“Not a single piece of scientific
evidence supports the ban,” said Kerry in a statement. “A law
that was once considered medically justified is today simply outdated
and needs to end, just as last year we ended the travel ban against
those with HIV.”
In the letter, the lawmakers argue that
the ban specifically singles out gay men and is “scientifically
unsound.”
“Prospective donors who have engaged
in heterosexual sexual activity with a person known to have HIV are
deferred for one year. At the same time, male donors who engaged in
protected homosexual sexual activity with a monogamous partner 26
years ago are deferred for life.”
“The ban also does not distinguish
between safe and unprotected sexual activity. As a result, healthy
blood donors are turned away every day due to an antiquated policy
and our blood supply is not necessarily any safer for it.”
The policy, which rejects men who have
had a sexual relationship with another man since 1977 from donating
blood, is unnecessary because of technological advances, the
lawmakers say.
“We live in a very different country
than we did in 1983. Today, the high-risk behaviors associated with
HIV contraction are more fully understood and dramatic technological
improvements have been made in HIV detection. … As a result [of
screening], the blood banking community believes that the lifetime
deferral is no longer necessary to protect the integrity of the blood
banks.”
In addition to Kerry, the letter was
also signed by Democratic Senators Kirstin Gillibrand of New York,
Dick Durbin of Illinois, Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, Sheldon Whitehouse
of Rhode Island, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Frank Lautenberg of New
Jersey, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Russ
Feingold of Wisconsin, Mark Udall of Colorado, Al Franken of
Minnesota, Maria Cantwell of Washington, Carl Levin of Michigan, Tom
Harkin of Iowa, Mark Begich of Alaska, Roland Burris of Illinois and
Michael Bennet of Colorado.