Outdated HIV prevention rules are hindering cornea donations, advocates say

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

It took years of lobbying for the Food and Drug Administration to lift restrictions on blood donations from men who have sex with men, which it put in place to prevent HIV transmission. The FDA did so last year, but it still won't let gay men donate corneas for that same reason. One Colorado doctor is working to change that. Colorado Public Radio's Elaine Tassy reports.

ELAINE TASSY, BYLINE: The doctor fighting to change FDA's policy is Michael Puente. He's a pediatric eye surgeon, and he says there's great need. He cites a 2021 study that found that for every donated cornea currently available, there's 70 people who need transplants.

MICHAEL PUENTE: And so if we can get the FDA to allow HIV-negative gay men to donate their corneas, it'll cure blindness in about 3,000 people each year.

TASSY: The FDA's ban is based on a 30-year-old paper by the CDC citing a slim possibility that the HIV virus could pass through cornea tissue to the recipient.

PUENTE: The policy that prevents gay men from donating their corneas hasn't changed a single time since May 1994, and it barely made sense in 1994. In the year 2024, it's ridiculous that a policy like this still exists with no scientific evidence to support it.

TASSY: In a statement, the FDA said it routinely reviews donor screening and testing and that it's a data-driven process. It says that while the absolute risk of HIV transmission through corneal surgery appears to be remote, there are still relative risks. Doctor Puente has become an activist as a member of Legalize Gay Eyes. It's an advocacy group that encourages people to contact their lawmakers and post on social media. Colorado resident Alisha Bashaw's parents donated their corneas. She says it's an opportunity everyone should have.

ALISHA BASHAW: It's really sad because your person has gone, and it's also really beautiful that she can gift in death and, like, live on in some way through that donation.

TASSY: Last year, nearly 70,000 Americans donated corneas. Because most recipients only need a cornea for one eye, most of those donors helped two people - not just one.

For NPR News, I'm Elaine Tassy in Aurora, Colo.

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