blood donation for homosexuals becomes more flexible

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Faced with the shortage of blood donation in the midst of a health crisis, the United States announced this Thursday, April 2, the relaxation of the ban on blood donation by homosexuals.

In the United States, the situation is increasingly complicated. The health crisis says a shortage of blood donations at a time when the country needs it most. Faced with this unprecedented health crisis, the American government has decided to relax the conditions for donating blood. This therefore implies easing the restrictions for the LGBTQ + community.

Indeed, since 2015, abstinence from 12 months was required to be able to donate blood. This only applied to homosexual people. But the exceptional conditions to which the covid-19 pandemic is exposing have made a crucial decision to advance the rights of the LGBTQ + community. The abstinence period is now reduced to 3 months, also taking into account women who have had sex with homosexual and bisexual men. The same goes for people who have had a tattoo or piercing, according to the United States Medicines Agency.

In a statement, FDA member Peter Marks spoke on the subject, explaining that it is done "without compromising the safety of blood supplies." This decision should be maintained even after the health crisis. This is a highly welcomed advance within the LGBTQ + community. The militant association Glaad, in the United States, was delighted with this news: "It is a victory for all those who gave voice against this ban which targets gay and bisexual men" The association thus hopes that this period of abstinence will subsequently be completely eliminated.

According to the American Red Cross, it is for the sake of social distancing that 2,700 collections have been canceled since the start of the pandemic, which caused the loss of 86,000 donations.

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by Melanie Bonvard