Blood Donation Ban

Ask the FDA to stop the ban on blood & plasma donations by men who have had sex with men!

Copy and paste this text into a document and include your information and signature. If you want, add a line or two to make it personal. 

TO:
U.S. Food & Drug Administration
White Oak Campus
10903 New Hampshire Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20993

FROM:
Your name
Your street address
Your city, state, and ZIP code

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is ____________________ and I’m writing to ask the FDA to stop the ban on blood and plasma donations by men who have had sex with men within the past three months, per the FDA’s updated guidance on April 2, 2020 (found at bit.ly/FDAbloodguidance).

Men who have had sex with men, many of whom identify as part of the LGBTQ community, have been disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis, and know what it is to live through a pandemic.

With the current, continuing COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent decrease in blood donations, I ask that men who have had sex with men be treated as equal citizens, able to donate blood and blood components during this unprecedented time without having to abstain from sex for three months in order to be of service to their communities and to their country.

I’ve read that blood plasma from those who have survived COVID-19 may be particularly useful to medical researchers as we search for a vaccine and/or cure for COVID-19. That’s why it’s more important than ever for men who have had sex with men, who have also survived COVID-19, be able to donate their plasma without having to abstain from sex for three months.

It is deeply unfair to ask this segment of the population for sexual abstinence when it is not asked of others who are not men who have had sex with men.

In conclusion, please end the ban on blood and plasma donations by men who have had sex with men within the past three months. I would very much appreciate a written response at the address above.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

_____________________