LOOSER GUIDELINES, MORE DONATIONS? While blood centers nationwide applaud the FDA’s rule that allows more gay and bisexual men to give blood, blood banks are skeptical that it will lead to a major increase in eligible donations. Jed Gorlin, the chief medical officer of America’s Blood Centers, a group of independent blood centers that make up roughly 60 percent of the nation’s blood donations, pointed to Canada and the U.K. as case studies. Those countries enacted similar policies last year and allowed men who have sex with men to donate blood without abstaining from sex if they have been in a monogamous relationship for more than three months. “They honestly did not see a dramatic change in donation,” Gorlin told Prescription Pulse. But he noted many universities and other key blood donation sites felt the FDA’s previous policy — requiring all LGBTQ men to abstain from sex for three months before donating blood — was discriminatory and failed to recruit blood donors as a result. With the new policy, there may be more donors from these institutions in general. “The new recommendations have taken a quantum leap in addressing the core issue of discriminatory policies toward MSM,” a senior Biden administration official not authorized to speak on the record told Prescription Pulse about the rule change last year. But not everyone thinks the new guidelines fight stigma enough: The FDA requires those who have had a new partner or multiple partners in the last three months to defer donating. It also prohibits LGBTQ men from donating blood if they take pre- or post-exposure prophylaxis against HIV. “Placing potential blood donors taking PrEP in a separate line from every other donor adds unnecessary stigma,” Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, said in a statement. The Biden administration stressed that changes to the guidance are not final. “As knowledge about the window period between infection and a positive HIV test becomes more clear in PrEP users, guidance may change as dictated by the evidence,” the White House official said. What’s next: Gorlin expects ABC’s centers to take three to six months to adopt guidelines and screening practices. The Red Cross said it would adopt the measures “as quickly as possible.” IT'S TUESDAY. WELCOME TO PRESCRIPTION PULSE. Your host today — a summer-loving kid at heart — is thrilled that D.C. has opened some of its splash parks early in anticipation of warmer weather. Send news, tips and favorite ways to keep cool to David Lim (dlim@politico.com or @davidalim) or Katherine Ellen Foley (kfoley@politico.com or @katherineefoley). TODAY ON OUR PULSE CHECK PODCAST, host Ruth Reader talks with AI entrepreneur and NYU professor emeritus Gary Marcus, who will testify before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law today as lawmakers consider regulating artificial intelligence in health care.
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