WHEREAS, the need for blood is constant, as blood transfusions are necessary to save patients' lives during surgery, treat cancer, chronic illnesses, and traumatic injuries; and

WHEREAS, while the donation of blood is considered by many to be a moral duty; only three percent (3%) of the people eligible to donate blood, donate it annually; and

WHEREAS, following the exponential spike in HIV infections among men having sex with men (MSM) compared to other populations, the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) established a lifetime ban on donations by MSM in 1983; and

WHEREAS, the initial ban allowed women having sex with women to donate blood, the ban evolved with science; eventually, women having sex with bisexual men, were included in the ban along with transexual men and women, increasing the prohibited population; the lifetime ban had been lifted in 2015, allowing gay men, bisexual men, transexual members of the LGBTQIA+ community and women having sex with bisexual men to donate only if they had not had sexual contact with gay or bisexual men within one year; and

WHEREAS, the unprecedented decrease in annual blood donations during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has created a national blood shortage, causing the FDA to reduce the one year for MSM sexual encounters to a three (3)-month period of time in 2020; and

WHEREAS, on November 30, an official from the USFDA shared with the Wall Street Journal that the USFDA is considering redirecting its umbrella assessments of MSM by creating a survey to eliminate MSM with risky behavior and allow more MSM in monogamous relationships of (3) months or more to donate blood; and WHEREAS, all of the past, present, and proposed policies are draconian, discriminatory, arbitrary, and capricious; and

WHEREAS, the Executive Director of the National Black Leadership Commission on Health (NBLCH), C. Virginia Fields (former NYC City Councilmember, Manhattan Borough President, and Democratic candidate for NYC Mayor), the American Red Cross, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) have gone on record stating the USFDA's policy is discriminatory and that a person's blood donation eligibility should not be determined by sexual orientation; and

WHEREAS, New York Blood Center announced a blood shortage emergency just last month; as of December 5, 2022, out of the US East Region's Blood Centers, 5 out of 7 (71%) have less than 2 day's supply of blood; compared to the national blood supply is 29 out of 59 (49%) have less than 2 day's supply; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the UFT will work with the AFT, Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the American Red Cross, the National Black Leadership Commission on Health (NBLCH), and other Human and Civil Rights Advocates to call on the USFDA to revoke the blood donation ban on members of the LGBTQIA+ community, particularly MSM, transsexual, bisexual men, and women having sex with bisexual men; and be it

RESOLVED, that the USFDA ensure that all eligible people without an infectious disease can donate blood if they choose, irrespective of their sexual preference and any other characterization based on questions that are used in an inequitable way to deny the LGBTQIA+ community and women who are sexually involved with bisexual men from saving lives.