OneBlood is one of the first blood donation centers to implement the new FDA guidelines for donor assessment.
The new policy will require all potential donors to answer the same eligibility questions, regardless of sexual orientation or gender.
Susan Forbes, senior vice president of corporate communications for OneBlood, says they have been working diligently to implement the new questionnaire since the FDA’s announcement.
“We had the wheels in motion very quickly to be able to implement this policy. We had to train over one thousand front line team members on the new policy... It was a massive behind-the-scenes effort to implement a policy change of this magnitude. It’s really the one of the biggest regulatory changes the blood industry has seen in decades”
The MSM, also known as the men who have sex with men policy, was originally put into place in the 1980′s due to the AIDs epidemic and lack of information on HIV but created a challenge for gay or bisexual men to donate blood. In May 2023, the FDA made the decision to include those questions on all donor history eligibility assessments.
The FDA said in a statement this is in efforts to create more opportunities for blood donations.
“This updated policy is based on the best available scientific evidence and is in line with policies in place in countries like the United Kingdom and Canada. It will potentially expand the number of people eligible to donate blood, while also maintaining the appropriate safeguards to protect the safety of the blood supply.”
OneBlood, along with Vitalant and American Red Cross, participated in a study where the new change was tested on over 16-hundred gay and bisexual men. Forbes said data collected from this research played a major role in the FDA’s decision to part ways with MSM. She added that the safety of blood donations is the number one priority for the company.
“All blood donations undergo more than a dozen tests to ensure that they are safe for patients, including HIV, Hepatitis B and C, West Nile and many other infectious diseases.” Forbes said. “..by having all donors answer the same questions and assessing their individual risk regarding HIV and other infectious diseases, it further ensures safety of the blood supply by having everybody answer the same questions.”
Forbes added she is enthusiastic about this policy moving forward.
“I think any time changes are made that enable more people the opportunity to donate blood safely, it’s a good thing. We very much look forward to welcoming more people to be part of our lifesaving mission.”
The new questionnaire went into effect at all OneBlood locations on Aug. 21.
You can check out all blood donation locations here.
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