New FDA Rule On Sperm Donation

365gay.com reports that the FDA's new rules that become live May 25 include a ban on anonymous sperm donation by any man who has had sex with another man in the last five years. There is no screening process on that addresses whether the prospective donor has engaged in high risk sexual activity, whether it is unprotected sex, encounters with prostitutes, straight or gay.

The FDA rejected criticism that screening procedures would be more effective, that routine procedures such as freezing donations for 6 months until a follow up HIV test comes back negative for the donor, and that HIV transission in the heterosexual population is rising. Instead the rules focus on a blanket ban on sexually active gay men. Lambda Legal has protested the rule change as "policy based on bigotry." Lambda Legal submitted a response to the FDA regarding the then-proposed changes.