May 16-26, 2024
Vol. 25, No. 12
Last May, the Food and Drug Administration eliminated certain screening questions and certain time restrictions imposed on men who have sex with other men. Under the new guidelines, gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships don’t have to abstain from sex for three months prior to donating blood. With a more gender-inclusive questionnaire that treats all prospective donors similarly, the number of eligible donors increased with the rule change, according to Vitalant. Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal from the Sun’s sister paper, New Times, chats with blood donation organizations and an HIV prevention organization about the issue [6]. You can also read about zeroing in on the final plans for downtown Santa Maria development [4]; an LA musician who frequents local wineries [22]; and the wine tasting train traversing Santa Barbara County [25].
