Can Gay Men Receive Blood Donations?

Dear Ramon,

My friends and I had this discussion over dinner the other night. We know that gay men cannot donate blood, organs/tissues, or semen. But can gay men receive blood or organs/tissues, even if it is from their siblings?

-Brent

Dear B,

You're right! A man who has had sex with another man anytime since 1977 cannot donate blood, vital organs/tissue or semen, which includes any sexually active gay man regardless of their safer sex practices. Unfair? You bet. According to the law, a straight man that, say, has unprotected sex with a high risk woman can give blood after 12 months, but a gay man can never give blood, even if he's been in a monogamous relationship practicing safer sex.

In May of 2007, the FDA renewed its 1983 policy banning gay blood donors. The FDA's official policy statement on MSM's says that the "policy is based on the documented increased risk of certain transfusion transmissible infections, such as HIV, associated with male-to-male sex and is not based on any judgment concerning the donor's sexual orientation."

So, the FDA won't let you save a life (even if your blood and organs are nice and healthy), but they will let someone save yours. About.com's Heart Disease expert Dr. Rich Fogoros confirms that although gay men cannot donate blood, they can receive blood or organ/tissue from FDA approved donors.