Greetings and happy summer!

Today we have an episode about the history of blood donation and transfusions as it pertains to public health, helping people recover from injuries and illness, and why some laws regarding who can donate are still out of date for certain populations, especially the LGBTQIA+ community.

Here is the link Linsey referenced regarding the FDA’s request for public comment. The period to submit comments ended in 2016 (we were incorrect in the podcast episode) but we’ll look to see if there’s anything new!

federalregister.gov/documents/2016/07/28/2016-17804/blood-donor-deferral-policy-for-reducing-the-risk-of-human-immunodeficiency-virus-transmission-by

Other things referenced:

bigthink.com/politics-current-affairs/democrats-gay-blood-donors

statnews.com/2016/01/22/paid-plasma-not-blood

campusrec.unc.edu/2015/10/the-history-of-blood-donation

redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/blood-donation-process/what-happens-to-donated-blood/blood-transfusions/history-blood-transfusion.html