The FDA reasoned this “indefinite deferment” was “due to the strong clustering of AIDS illness and the subsequent discovery of high rates of HIV infection in that population,” in background information presented in the newest guidance document. Men who had sex with men (MSM) after 1977 were barred from donating blood between September 1985 and December 2015, when there was a lifetime ban against donating, even if there had been one sexual encounter. You’re just as likely to get HIV whether you’re straight or gay.” I think it stems from the 1980s, when the virus first came out, when people didn’t really understand it. Just because I’m a gay man sleeping with another men does not make my blood any less clean. But, "whether or not you donate blood, that blood is tested and verified and checked before it’s even passed on. The revised policy matches that in the United Kingdom, which in 2017 implemented a 3-month deferral policy for gay or bisexual men who want to donate blood.įormer blood technician, now a fitness entrepreneur and owner of, Alistaire Nzekio, 34, of Hightstown, New Jersey, pointed out, “The whole reason is because they think men who sleep with men are at a higher risk of getting HIV," he said. According to the CDC, all donated blood products are tested for HIV and other pathogens, such as hepatitis C virus. Therein lies the rub: these guidelines have remained in place for years, long after processes exist to test blood products to determine if they are safe, no matter who donates. And it’s also outrageous to assume that gay men engage in more risky sexual behavior than straight men.” “It just always seemed so ridiculous to me. Harcup, 43, a gay man who lives in Florida. How do they know if a gay man is gay? How do they know for a fact if whether or not potential donors have had intercourse with members of the same sex? And how recently? How do they know that the supposed straight male donors have never had sex with another man before? How do they know if they’re not bisexual?” exclaimed James W. “Here’s the thing: it never made any sense to me as to how they legitimately policed that anyway. The original ban on donations was born during an era when HIV was not well understood and few men with AIDS survived. However, controversy still surrounds the FDA’s newest guidance, as some say it is continues to be based not on fact but on prejudice.
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Now, instead of 1 year, if a male has had sex with another male, he need only wait 3 months to donate blood. Red Cross figures in March showed a drop-off of 86,000 fewer blood donations across the United States, due to almost 2700 blood drives that had to be cancelled. In its 20 years, the franchise has never featured an all-gay cast.The FDA has announced a relaxing of its restrictions on gay men being allowed to donate blood, in light of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Underwood’s season of “The Bachelor,” and Kristian Haggerty, who was flown out to the set midseason, ended up getting engaged. The “Bachelor” franchise had its first onscreen same-sex relationship in 2019 on “Bachelor in Paradise.” Demi Burnett, who appeared on Mr. Viewers of his “Good Morning America” segment inferred that this was the personal low to which he was alluding. Underwood, who she said had placed a tracking device on her car. Randolph filed a restraining order against Mr. The couple announced their split in May 2020. Randolph’s family helped him recover from Covid-19 in March, around the time his memoir was published.
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Underwood and Cassie Randolph, 25, the front-runner of his season, began dating. Near the end of the season, as the stress of the show increased, he said he was “done” with filming and “ jumped the fence” of a resort in the Algarve region of Portugal in an effort to escape the set.Īfter the show ended, Mr. He starred on “The Bachelor” in 2019, where again his virginity was a central theme. Underwood’s sexual inexperience a major plot point.)
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But Becca Kufrin, the season’s star, worried that he was unprepared for a lifelong commitment and eliminated him after their “hometown” date, where she met his family. Underwood appeared on “The Bachelorette” in 2018 and quickly became a fan favorite on the reality dating show.