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LGBT Equality Caucus

MEDIA CENTER

Congressional Equality Caucus Commends Final FDA Recommendation Regarding Blood Donation Eligibility

May 11, 2023

WASHINGTON, DC Today, the Congressional Equality Caucus released the following statement commending the Food and Drug Administration's final recommendation to determine eligibility for blood donations based on individual risk assessments. This past March, Members of Congress, led by Equality Caucus Vice Chair Mike Quigley (IL-05), and Co-Chairs Ritchie Torres (NY-15) and Eric Sorensen (IL-17), sent a letter to the FDA expressing support for the proposed individual risk-based questionnaire for potential blood donors and urging long term investments to safely increase blood donation eligibility in the long-term.

"For far too long, the federal government used outdated and unscientific fears to determine who can and cannot give blood. FDA's final recommendation on blood donation eligibility is an important step forward in creating guidance that screens all people for blood donations based on the science of virus transmission rather than a person's sexuality or how they identify," said Equality Caucus Chair Mark Pocan (WI-02). "This recommendation aligns with the LGBTQI+ community's long-term request for individualized risk-based assessments. My colleagues and I commend these final recommendations and urge the FDA to continue to invest in improvements in testing and pathogen reduction technologies so they can remove further barriers that may still prevent some LGBTQI+ people from donating blood."

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Founded in 2008, the mission of the Congressional Equality Caucus is to promote equality for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics, including intersex traits. The Caucus is strongly committed to achieving the full enjoyment of human rights for LGBTQI+ people in the U.S. and around the world.