{"id":531,"date":"2014-12-14T12:02:52","date_gmt":"2014-12-14T12:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.emily-esque.com\/wp\/?p=531"},"modified":"2015-02-12T20:38:09","modified_gmt":"2015-02-12T20:38:09","slug":"letter-to-fda-decision-of-blood-products-advisory-committee-regarding-msm-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.emily-esque.com\/wp\/?p=531","title":{"rendered":"Letter to FDA: Decision of Blood Products Advisory Committee Regarding “MSM” Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

UPDATE (December 23, 2014 4:00 pm): I contacted the FDA to inquire again about the policy, since I continue to see it referred to as a ban on “men who have sex with other men” and was told that the office was “reluctant” to issue a response prior to announcing today’s potential policy shift, even though my question doesn’t relate to the change from lifetime deferral to one-year celibacy period.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lorrie H. McNeill
\nDirector
\nOffice of Communication, Outreach and Development
\nCenter for Biologics Evaluation and Research
\nFood and Drug Administration
\n10903 New Hampshire Avenue
\nBuilding 71 Room 4120
\nSilver Spring, MD 20993-0002<\/p>\n

Transmitted via e-mail<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Re: Decision of Blood Products Advisory Committee Regarding \u201cMSM\u201d Ban<\/p>\n

Dear Ms. McNeill,<\/p>\n

I was disappointed to hear of the recent decision by the FDA\u2019s Blood Products Advisory Committee to remain silent on the question of whether to eliminate the ban on blood donation from \u201cmen who have sex with other men at any time since 1977,\u201d sometimes referred to as the \u201cMSM\u201d ban. However, when I contacted your office for more information I was horrified to hear confirmed that the FDA, to this very day, considers sex assignment at birth both immutable and internet, such that transgender women and other individuals assigned male at birth are perpetually considered \u201cmen\u201d for the purposes of the ban.<\/p>\n

This fact underscores the arbitrary and capricious nature of the \u201cMSM\u201d ban. Rather than looking at actual risk factors, the FDA has concluded that if a person born with (probably) a penis and assigned male at birth, the fact of that person\u2019s sexual interaction with another person born with (probably) a penis and assigned male at birth renders both individuals categorically tainted and ineligible to donate blood. The set of people affected by the \u201cMSM\u201d ban includes the following pairs:<\/p>\n