Gay and bi men are speaking up after being barred from donating blood to Vegas victims

After 59 people were killed and more than 500 injured in Sunday's mass shooting in Las Vegas, Americans were strongly encouraged to give blood to assist the victims. However, gay and bisexual men were turned away.

Men who have sex with men are being denied from donating blood for victims of the Las Vegas mass shooting. Source: Oscar Gonzalez/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Hundreds of Nevada residents were lining up outside blood banks in the early hours of the morning after the mass shooting on the Las Vegas strip on Sunday. 

However, many LGBTQ+ men have reportedly been turned away at blood banks - because gay and bisexual men are prohibited from giving blood. In 2017, FDA guidelines stipulate that gay and bi men cannot give blood unless they've been sexually inactive for over a year. 

The rules - which came into prominence in the '80s during the AIDS crisis - centre around the prevalence of HIV in gay men, and the likelihood of HIV being transferred via anal sex. Despite that fact that every blood donation is tested, men who have sex with men still face a blanket ban.

Since the shooting in Vegas, gay men have been speaking out online about the injustice they feel about not being allowed to donate, particularly at a time when blood is desperately needed.

This includes former N*SYNC member Lance Bass, and actor Colin Hanlon:

Social media users responded to the tweets, sharing similar stories and saying that they felt the current restrictions on certain queer men to be unjust.

Near-identical restrictions on donating blood exist in Australia, too, and the Australian Red Cross say that the regulations are not discriminatory. The blood service states that the regulations are in place due to HIV being more prevalent in gay and bisexual men, and also because HIV is often undetectable early in the infection. 

"In the general population, men who have sex with men accounted for 87 per cent of newly acquired HIV infections in Australia in 2015.

"The Blood Service tests every donation. However, even this sensitive testing is unable to detect HIV, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus very early in the infection. You might hear this referred to as a ‘window period’ – it’s a time when the infection is just starting and is not yet detectable. This is why we don’t rely on testing alone.

"The Blood Service is not discriminating against anyone based on their sexuality; rather the policies are based on assessment of risk."

An independent review of blood donor referrals for gay and bisexual men occurred in 2014, and advised that the period of no sexual contact could be reduced down to 6 months (from 1 year), but the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), who regulate the Blood Service, decided against the reduced deferral period. Regulations currently remain that gay and bisexual man can only donate blood if they have not have oral or anal sex (including protected sex) for over 1 year.