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How does the FDA develop bans against blood donation?
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Jun 17, 2016
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How does the FDA develop bans against blood donation?
Since 1983, the FDA has restricted blood donations from men who have sex with men. How does it develop and modify policies over time?
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Photo by ec-jpr via Flickr Creative Commons
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Since 1983, the FDA has restricted blood donations from men who have sex with men. How does it develop and modify policies over time?

In the wake of the Orlando shooting, gay men who wanted to help the victims were angry.

They were angry at the decades-old FDA policy that prevented them from donating blood because of the fears over spreading HIV.

But how does the FDA develop policy about who can donate blood, and how does the agency adapt over time?

Take Two chats with Dr. Alyssa Ziman, director of transfusion medicine and clinical laboratories at UCLA.