the pride
7.2.2021 – 7.16.2021 ISSUE NUMBER 59, VOLUME 30 | JULY 2 – JULY 16, 2021
LOS ANGELES
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THE LOS ANGELES LGBT NEWSPAPER
WWW.THEPRIDELA.COM
Los Angeles LGBT Center Partners with Nation’s Largest Blood Centers to Conduct Research to Expand Gay and Bi Men’s Donor Eligibility
The Los Angeles LGBT Center will help recruit hundreds of eligible participants in a pilot study launched by three of the nation’s largest blood centers in an effort to change discriminatory policy that prevents most gay and bisexual men from donating blood. Vitalant, OneBlood and the American Red Cross, which collectively represent approximately 60 percent of the blood supply in the United States, are conducting the ADVANCE (Assessing Donor Variability and New Concepts in Eligibility) study. The Center is one of eight LGBT centers nationwide each responsible for recruiting 250–300 gay and bi men between 18 to 39 years old for the innovative study. Funded through a contract with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the groundbreaking study is focused on evaluating alternatives to the FDA’s current blood donor deferral policy for men who have sex with
men (MSM). The FDA recommends that a man who has had sex with another man be deferred from donating blood for three months following the most recent sexual contact with another man. The FDA revised the deferral policy from 1 year to 3 months in April 2020, “The elimination of the FDA’s archaic blood donation policy for gay and bi men is long overdue. The decades-old policy was enacted at a time when there was little science on the mechanisms of HIV transmission and the epidemic was concentrated in the gay community,” said Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Chief Medical Officer Robert Bolan, M.D. “The Center is eager to contribute, through the ADVANCE study, in ending the stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS and the discrimination that targets gay and bisexual men.” The purpose of the ADVANCE study is a first step in determining whether different
donor deferral criteria can be used at blood centers nationwide while maintaining the safety of the blood supply. For this to be possible, a change would need to be made to the donor history questionnaire that consists of a series of questions which all potential blood donors answer before donating. The questions assess risk factors which could indicate possible infection with a transfusion transmissible infection, including HIV. “The ADVANCE study is a first step in providing data that will help the FDA determine if a donor history questionnaire based on individual risk would be as effective as time-based deferral, in reducing the risk of HIV in the blood supply,” said Brian Custer, Ph.D., vice president of Research and Scientific Programs with Vitalant Research Institute. Participants in the study will have a blood sample drawn for HIV testing and will answer
different questions designed to determine individual HIV risk factors. The study will assess if the questions related to behavior are effective in distinguishing between MSM who have recently tested positive for HIV and those who have not. The findings of this study will help determine the next steps needed to modify the donor history questionnaire. “If the scientific evidence supports the use
Los Angeles LGBT, see page 10
Glaad And 39 Other LGBTQ Organizations Sign Open Letter To Emmy Voters Encouraging Support For Groundbreaking Series “Pose” GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, released an open letter signed by 40 leading LGBTQ organizations encouraging Emmy Award voters to show their support with 10’s across the board for the groundbreaking FX series, POSE, co-created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Steven Canals. And specifically, for the transgender and nonbinary actors – Mj Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore, Hailie Sahar, and Angelica Ross – who lead the groundbreaking show. With the backing of the largest national LGBTQ organizations – and the four largest North American LGBTQ film festivals – the letter calls out the ways in which POSE transformed the landscape of transgender representation in Hollywood and educated the world on who transgender people are. After years of living on the sidelines, the transgender community saw themselves on screen with powerful characters and rich
storylines, all set against the backdrop of the electric world of ballroom. The letter goes on to say that “not only are these performances in this Peabody Award, AFI Award, and GLAAD Media Awardwinning show of the highest caliber, but voting for POSE would signal that many of the issues the show so poignantly addresses – transphobia, homophobia, racism, homelessness, poverty, violence against the trans community, Black and brown queer voices, and the AIDS epidemic – very much matter.” “From the beautifully crafted storylines to the remarkable cast performances, POSE broke new ground for transgender inclusion both in front of and behind the camera, leaving behind a legacy that will change the future of trans representation on television,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “In its final season, TV Academy voters must acknowledge the importance of
Emmy Voters, see page 6
Stars from the show “Pose” at the 2018 Los Angeles Pride Parade.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons