LTC 327-2012 Transmittal of Miami Beach Human Rights MIAMIBEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. 327 -2012 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager
DATE: December 12, 2012
SUBJECT: TRANSMITTAL OF MIAMI BEACH HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
RESOLUTION 2012 -002 - Repeal FDA Prohibition Regarding Blood
Donation
This LTC is to inform you that the Miami Beach Human Rights Committee ( MBHRC) adopted
the enclosed resolution at their December 11, 2012 meeting, pertaining to FDA regulations
for blood donation.
The MBHRC is urging the Mayor and City Commission to pass a resolution calling upon the
United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to repeal their longstanding prohibition
on men who have sex with men from donating blood, so as not to deny Miami Beach
residents the privilege of donating screened blood, which unnecessarily limits the nation's
blood supply.
If you have any questions, please contact the City Clerk's Office at 305.673.7411.
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Enclosure: Resolution 2012 -002
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MBHRC RESOLUTION NO. 2012-002
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH HUMAN RIGHTS
COMMITTEE URGING THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION TO
PASS A RESOLUTION CALLING UPON THE UNITED STATES FOOD
AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) TO REPEAL THEIR
LONGSTANDING PROHIBITION ON MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN
FROM DONATING BLOOD.
WHEREAS, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for
protecting the public health; and
WHEREAS, the FDA regulates blood donation in the United States and explicitly bars
any man who has had sex with another man, at any time since 1977, from donating
blood; and
WHEREAS, the FDA justifies this policy by citing that 1977 was the beginning of the
United States' AIDS epidemic and that men who have sex with men are at a greater risk
of HIV, hepatitis B and other infections that can be transmitted by transfusion; and
WHEREAS, this lifetime restriction on men who have had sex with men, even once
since 1977, from donating blood fails to consider the individual's HIV status and
represents the FDA's policy since 1982; and
WHEREAS, in 1982, there were no HIV tests or HIV treatments, and little was known
about HIV and AIDS; and
WHEREAS, in the almost 30 years since the FDA's decision to exclude men who have
sex with men from donating blood, the medical community has made great strides in
preventing, diagnosing, creating, and understanding HIV /AIDS; and
WHEREAS, the FDA's lifetime restriction on men who have sex with men from donating
blood fails to consider the potential donor's actual health status and whether the
potential donor has actually engaged in high risk sexual activity; and
WHEREAS, the only other groups on the FDA's lifetime deferral list for blood donation
are intravenous drug users, people who have received animal tissue or organs, people
who traveled to or live in certain countries due to the risk of transmitting malaria or
variant Creutzfeldt -Jakob Disease (vCJD) and people who had sex for drugs or money;
and
WHEREAS, despite the FDA's lifetime ban on men who have sex with men, nationally,
an individual needs a life- saving blood transfusion once every 3 seconds; yet, while 60%
of Americans are eligible to donate blood, on average less than 5% of people actually
donate; and
WHEREAS, a single blood donation can save 3 lives, following component separation;
and
WHEREAS, limiting the population of potential blood donors leaves numerous
vulnerable individuals in need of receiving life- saving blood; and
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WHEREAS, the greater the donor base, the easier it will be to meet the nation's demand
for blood, especially when there is a blood shortage; and
WHEREAS, Argentina, Australia, Hungary, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden
and the United Kingdom have all imposed a time period in which men who have sex with
men must wait before being allowed to donate, while Russia completely lifted the ban;
and
WHEREAS, other countries, such as France, Italy and Spain screen potential donors for
high -risk sexual practices, rather than men who have sex with men behavior, and as
such these countries defer all individuals who have engaged in risky sexual behavior;
and
WHEREAS, the FDA has established a 12 -month blood donation deferral period for any
individual who has had sexual contact with a person infected with HIV or viral hepatitis,
except for men who have had sex with other men; and
WHEREAS, the blood donation organizations have jointly recommended that the
deferral period for men who have had sex with other men be limited to 12 months since
the date of the last such sexual contact; and
WHEREAS, there is a constant need for blood, and Miami Beach residents are known to
be generous blood donors, and
WHEREAS, denying Miami Beach residents the privilege of donating blood
unnecessarily limits the nation's blood supply, especially since all blood supply is
screened; now, therefore, be it:
Resolved, that the Miami Beach Human Rights Committee urges the Mayor and City
Commission to pass a resolution calling upon the United States Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) to repeal their longstanding prohibition on men who have sex with
men from donating blood.
PASSED and A OPTED this 13 day of November 2012.
Eliz th Sc artz, Esq. —Chair
Miami Beach Muman Rights Committee
Signed on December 11, 2012
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Offered by Miami Beach Human Rights Committee Member Walker C. Burttschell, who
moved its adoption. The motion was seconded by Miami Beach Human Rights
Committee Member Dr. Barry Ragone, and upon being put to a vote, the vote was as
follows:
Elizabeth Schwartz, Esq., Chair — Yes
Alan B. Fishman, Esq., Vice Chair — Yes
Walker C. Burttschell — Yes
CJ Ortuno — Absent
Dr. Barry Ragone — Yes
Rafael Trevino — Yes
William Warren, Jr. — Absent
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