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LifeStream Critical Blood Shortage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 16, 2021 DOWNLOAD PDF COPY OF PRESS RELEASE LifeStream experiencing extreme blood shortage Community is ill-prepared to support hospital patients. LifeStream Blood Bank, the provider of blood products and services to more than 80 Southern California hospitals, is experiencing an extreme blood shortage. As the region emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic era, the need for blood donations is more urgent than ever. Hospitals are reporting an increased need for blood yet, our blood bank shelves are at their lowest level since the pandemic began. We are urging the public ...

FDA lifts ban on blood donation by gay and bisexual men

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released final rules that ease restrictions on blood donations by gay and bisexual men. The new rule allows gay and bisexual men to donate blood if they have not had sex with a man for one year. Previously, the FDA banned all blood donations from men who have had sex with another man since 1977. The previous FDA regulations stipulated that gay men were "deferred as blood donors ... because as a group, [they were] at increased risk for HIV, hepatitis B ...