Plasma from gay men could save lives: Help change policy

Calls for donors of blood plasma from people who have survived COVID-19 are being made with a sense of urgency and with greater frequency. A recent op-ed article from the president of the Florida Medical Association requested donors. Television news anchors and medical experts mention this need regularly. And yet, gay men who wish to donate their blood plasma and antibodies are not permitted to do so because of current FDA policies. Blood plasma from gays is only accepted if donors state that they have abstained from sex with men for three months.

This is a ridiculous, dangerous, harmful and discriminatory policy. It needs to be changed.

Blood can be screened for HIV (or any other purpose) and discarded if it does not meet requirements. Why turn away a community of people who wish to help? Why should people not be given a chance to survive?

My husband, Stephen Plescia, and I want to help people suffering with COVID-19. We are married and have been in a monogamous relationship approaching 32 years. However, in March 2020, while on a cruise, we contracted COVID-19 and came home from Australia to recover over a 23-day period. We have been tested twice and the results have been negative both times. Neither of us has ever tested positive for HIV/AIDS, which is the only possible holdover from a more discriminatory era that can explain why this policy is still in place. Still, we do not qualify.

When my doctor called about one of his friends in Holy Cross who needed my blood type and plasma, we tried to donate immediately. Both of us went through the entire interview, met the doctor, and signed required release forms, only to be told that because of our relationship and lifestyle we were ineligible because we had not abstained from sex for 90 days prior. On top of everything else, it would have been better to have stressed this eligibility requirement up front rather than at the end of this invasive questioning process.

Every time I see someone on a ventilator and hear reports of the need for plasma as the last option a patient has, I am infuriated that our blood is not allowed to be used. We are not alone. Andy Cohen, host of “Watch What Happens Live” from New York, also has tried to donate his blood plasma, but he too was denied this lifesaving opportunity to help someone. He was a guest on “The View” (7⁄28/20) and once again spoke about this discriminatory policy.

Closer to home, state Rep. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park, the first openly gay Black legislator in Florida history, was also turned away after trying to save a life.

I have addressed our concerns about this to two congressional representatives, emailed the American Red Cross, shared my concern with two state associations, but have not seen any action. The Surgeon General of the FDA has called for donations of blood plasma. Pre-COVID, the

FDA policy required gay men to abstain from sex for 12 months. It recently revised the deferral period down to three months. But to me, that sounds arbitrary at best — discriminatory at worst.

Please do your part and advocate for the FDA to change this policy. Perhaps we can save one life, perhaps more. To us, it is worth the effort. Please help.

DAVID SANTIAGO/AP A health care worker walks by the Big Red Bus from OneBlood outside at Cano Health in Hialeah as the coronavirus pandemic continues on July 29. The City of Hialeah, in association with Cano Health, launched a one blood drive calling for convalescent plasma donations.