However, the OneBlood donation center later said that the FDA guidelines, still hold true and the gay and bisexual men are still barred from donating blood.
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“We had a lot of donors come in, in response to trying to give what they could, based on the need for Florida”, phlebotomist Edwina Bullock said. “So we want people with those blood groups to donate as regularly as they can, and now they’ll be told when their donation has gone to a hospital to help patients”.
The FDA, up until a year ago, had a lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood.
It’s a similar message that’s being echoed nationwide, as blood banks are sending whatever they can of their blood supply to Orlando after a shooting at a gay nightclub left 50 dead and dozens injured.
Around the world, 25 countries are unable to screen all donated blood for one or more of these infections due to irregular supply of test kits, staff shortages, poor quality test kits, or lack of basic quality in laboratories.
“This week I watched it all unfold again in Orlando as gay men tried to donate in the face of tragedy”, he said at a City Hall rally sponsored by the Blood Equality campaign Tuesday that coincided with World Blood Donor Day.
According to the World Health Organization, only regular, voluntary, unpaid blood donations can guarantee a community has a sufficient supply of safe blood.
Anthony Hayes, vice president of Gay Men’s Health Crisis, said many LGBT people were turned away when they tried to give blood.
In December, the FDA scrapped a decades-old rule that had imposed a lifetime moratorium on blood donations from gay and bisexual men. “I’m O positive, which is always a need and I’m always willing to help out”.
All U.S. blood donations are screened for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
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Immediately after the mass shooting in Orlando, calls went out to donate to local blood banks to replace blood that was being used. This is because, in general, your blood cells can take around three months to regenerate post a donation episode.
