Bill Text: NJ AR171 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges federal Food and Drug Administration to ease restrictions on gay and bisexual men donating blood.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-01-10 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health Committee [AR171 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-AR171-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman REGINALD W. ATKINS
District 20 (Union)
Assemblyman HERB CONAWAY, JR.
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblywoman ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Stanley, Assemblywoman Jaffer and Assemblyman Sampson
SYNOPSIS
Urges federal Food and Drug Administration to ease restrictions on gay and bisexual men donating blood.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Assembly Resolution urging the federal Food and Drug Administration to ease restrictions on gay and bisexual men donating blood.
Whereas, Donated human blood is an essential component of the health care system. Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood, which is used in the course of emergency treatment, surgery, trauma care, and burn care, as well as in the treatment of chronic conditions such as sickle cell disease; and
Whereas, In addition to the four main blood types, A, B, O, and AB, and the Rhesus or "Rh" factor, under which blood is identified as "positive" or "negative," there are more than 600 known blood antigens that affect the compatibility of donor blood. Some antigens are unique to specific racial and ethnic groups, which means diversity in the blood supply is essential; and
Whereas, The nation has experienced chronic shortages in blood supplies that stem from a number of factors, including long-time donors no longer being able to donate for health reasons and challenges in recruiting new donors; blood shortages were only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, it is not uncommon for 25 percent of blood centers to have less than a one-day supply of blood on hand on any given day; and
Whereas, In the 1980s, in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and multiple cases where HIV was transmitted through blood transfusion, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) imposed a lifelong ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood; and
Whereas, In 2015, the FDA lifted the lifetime ban and allowed gay and bisexual men to donate blood if they had been abstinent for at least one year. In 2020, in response to severe blood shortages experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA shortened the abstinence period to three months; and
Whereas, In response to the eased restrictions, health and medical professionals sent a letter to the FDA requesting that the agency transition from categorical risk assessments to individual risk assessments for potential blood donors, noting that advancements in testing for HIV have greatly enhanced the ability to detect HIV shortly after transmission, thereby reducing the risk that an undetected HIV infection will be transmitted to a patient; and
Whereas, Advancements in HIV prophylaxis have also reduced the risk of HIV transmission through sexual contact, even among high-risk populations, with the development of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) medications; and
Whereas,
Advocacy groups have long argued that categorical bans on blood donation by men
who have sex with men are discriminatory, only serve to stigmatize the LGBTQ+
community, and are not based on current science; and
Whereas, Categorical risk factor assessments do not account for situations where a potential donor practices safe sex or is in a monogamous sexual relationship, and is therefore at low-to-no risk of contracting HIV or transmitting HIV through donated blood. Furthermore, the current blood donor screening guidelines do not identify men or women have had unprotected sex with multiple partners of the opposite sex, and who may therefore be at increased risk of having contracted a sexually transmitted infection, including HIV; and
Whereas, Numerous groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Red Cross, which supplies an estimated 40 percent of the nation's blood and blood products, have urged the FDA to move to individual risk factor-based donation guidelines; and
Whereas, The FDA reported in late November 2022 that it expected to conclude a study by the end of the year, the ADVANCE study, which is evaluating the safety of the current three-month deferral period from blood donation for men who have sex with men. The study is expected to identify specific activities that may present an increased risk of HIV infection, and may provide the basis for the adoption of a risk-based blood donor assessment; and
Whereas, One way to broaden the donor base and help reduce shortages in blood supplies will be to allow gay and bisexual men to donate blood more easily, through the replacement of categorical donations restrictions with individualized risk assessments; and
Whereas, It is the sentiment of the General Assembly of New Jersey that the FDA should update its donor assessment criteria as expeditiously as possible to reflect the current science concerning activities associated with the risk of HIV transmission; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The General Assembly respectfully urges the federal Food and Drug Administration, no later than three months after the adoption of this resolution, to update its blood donation requirements to eliminate the three-month ban on blood donation by men who have sex with men and to transition to an assessment of each prospective blood donor based on individualized risk.
2. A copy of this
resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted to the
Commissioner of the federal Food and Drug Administration.
STATEMENT
This Assembly resolution respectfully urges the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), no later than three months after the adoption of the resolution, to update its blood donation requirements to replace the current three-month ban on blood donation by men who have sex with men with an assessment of each prospective donor based on individualized risk.
Current blood donation guidelines require gay and bisexual men to abstain from sex with other men for a period of three months as a condition of donating blood. This policy is the current iteration of a policy first adopted in the 1980s to prevent the transmission of HIV through blood transfusion. However, in the intervening years, there have been advancements in testing for HIV, as well as HIV prophylaxis measures, and the current science supports individualized risk assessments over categorical restrictions on blood donation.
The FDA has signaled that it may be moving to individualized risk assessments based on the findings of a study that is expected to conclude by the end of 2022. The General Assembly respectfully urges the FDA to make the transition to individualized risk assessments as expeditiously as possible.
