A phlebotomist collects vials of blood from an intravenous line from a patient who is donating blood at Vitalant blood donation center on January 11, 2022 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
(CNN) — The US Food and Drug Administration says it has finalized new risk-based rules for blood donation which will ask all donors the same set of questions regardless of their sexual orientation.
The move paves the way for more gay and bisexual men to donate blood.
The new rules require now require all prospective donors who report having a new sexual partner, or more than one sexual partner in the last three months, and anal sex in the past three months to defer donations to reduce the likelihood of donations by individuals with new or recent HIV infection who may be in the window where those infections can’t be detected by lab tests.
Anyone taking medications to treat or prevent HIV would also be deferred from donation.
Before the FDA revised its rules, all men who have sex with men faced lifetime bans on blood donation.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.