“Dear PoPville,
The Whitman-Walker Institute at LIZ on 14th and R St NW is partnering with the American Red Cross in Washington, DC, to reach out to gay and bisexual men about a new research study regarding blood donation eligibility. The study is called Assessing Donor Variability And New Concepts in Eligibility (ADVANCE).
The purpose of the ADVANCE study is to assess if specific questions may be able to determine individual HIV risk in men who have sex with men (MSM) in order to remove the current ban on gay and bisexual men from donating blood.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) makes blood donation policies that all blood centers in the country must follow. To keep the blood supply safe during the onset of the HIV crisis in the early 1980s, the FDA began recommending that sexually active MSM should not donate blood. In 2015, working groups and committees leveraged advanced HIV testing and screening techniques, and the lifetime ban for MSM was lifted–replaced by a 12-month restriction for sexual activity between MSM. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA announced that they were reducing the deferral policy from 12-months to 3-months, which is a great step forward.
The ADVANCE Study is designed to understand if, by asking carefully crafted and research-informed screening questions, blood collectors can screen potential blood donors for their individual HIV risk factors rather than applying a ban against sexually active gay and bisexual men. The goal is to move away from overly broad questions that exclude potential donors and spread stigmatizing messages about MSM and their HIV risks.
Whitman-Walker is enthusiastically recruiting eligible men for this research study as it is our mission to advance scientific and policy initiatives that protect and uplift the LGBTQ+ community.
Interested in participating in the ADVANCE study? Check out the study website at www.ADVANCEstudy.org to learn more information and schedule an appointment.”