“In light of the urgent crisis facing America’s blood supply, we urge FDA to take immediate action to reassess the existing three-month blanket deferral period for gay and bisexual men,” Ocasio-Cortez and other lawmakers said in a letter to FDA. “So that every person who can safely donate blood in the United States has the opportunity to do so.”

The omicron surge led to a decline in blood donations, causing a national blood crisis. Other countries moved in the direction of individual risk-based assessment for potential donors, and the Food and Drug Administration should consider similar steps, the letter said.

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