She continued, \"And I think that what this does is just reinforce the notion that there's something wrong with being gay or being bisexual, and that is not a good thing, especially when medical medicine has far surpassed that notion.\"
Ellis explained that according to a 2014 study by the Williams Institute, if the MSM ban were lifted, more than 600,000 additional pints of blood would be donated, which could help save the lives of more than a million individuals.
The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ civil rights organization in the U.S., is also calling on the FDA to change its policy for MSM blood donations. In a letter sent Thursday to Commissioner Hahn, the group pointed out testing technologies that reduce the window period for diseases -- including HIV -- and like the senators, called for donation eligibility to be determined on an individualized basis rather than excluding an entire group.
\"It is critical that deferral be based on information that is within the personal knowledge and control of the prospective donor -- and not on the sexual orientation or gender identity of the donor, the sexual orientation, gender identity, or activities of one’s sexual partners, or on perceived monogamy,” Alphonso B. David, President of the organization, wrote in the letter.
He continued, \"A policy focused on the prospective donor’s activity, rather than identity, will not only be safer but rational.\"
The senators, GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign all cited the COVID-19 outbreak and recent blood shortages as reasons to call for action now. On March 17, the American Red Cross announced a \"severe blood shortage,\" explaining that social distancing guidelines and coronavirus fears led many blood drives to be canceled, resulting in fewer blood donations.
\"In light of this shortage, we urge you to swiftly update blood donor deferral policies in favor of ones that are grounded in science, are based on individual risk factors, do not unfairly single out one group of individuals, and allow all healthy Americans to donate,\" the senators wrote.
While the Red Cross has since said that the blood supply has been replenished from \"concerning low levels,\" there are concerns about the future.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/blood-donation-ap-jef-200330_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Matt York/AP
PHOTO: A man donates blood at a temporary blood bank set up in a church's fellowship hall, March 24, 2020, in Tempe, Ariz.
\"And right now, as I said, things are stable. But we don't know what next week is going to bring,\" Kristal Baker, the manager for transfusion safety, quality surveillance and analysis for the Piedmont HealthCare System in Atlanta told ABC News.
The American Red Cross, America's Blood Centers and the American Association of Blood Banks also support an update to the current policy. The Red Cross is specifically advocating for the deferral time to be reduced from 12 months to three months.
When asked for comment, an FDA spokesperson cited the recent decline in blood and plasma donations then wrote, \"At this time, FDA's recommendations regarding blood donor deferral for men who have sex with men have not changed, but we are actively considering the situation as the outbreak progresses.\"
At the FDA's Blood Products Advisory Committee meeting on March 21, 2019, an FDA official said the \"FDA is committed to ongoing evaluation of the MSM 12-month deferral policy and potentially advancing the policy based on the available scientific evidence.\"
What to know about coronavirus:
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