The FDA’s gay and bi blood-donor ban isn’t just stigmatizing—it’s also likely outdated
All US blood donations get tested for HIV and other transmittable illnesses. But a sexual-orientation questionnaire, which some say is prejudiced, serves as a second screener. (Ahmad Ardity/Pixabay/)It took until mid-April for Jack Turban to feel like he had his life back. A few weeks earlier, a cough and slight runny nose morphed into a splitting headache and chronic exhaustion. Turban, a resident physician in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, soon tested positive for COVID-19. During his recovery, he came across reports on convalescent plasma transfusion, an experimental therapy that boosts the immune responses of those suffering from severe coronavirus infections. Blood centers urged recovered patients to donate their plasma, the protein-filled, yolk-colored liquid that may contain COVID-19 antibodies, which can potentially save lives and beat back the disease.But as Turban soon found out, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bans men who’ve had sex with other men in the last...