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U.S. senators seek review of FDA’s gay blood ban & more

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U.S. senators seek review of FDA’s gay blood ban

WASHINGTON — A group of 18 U.S. senators, led by John Kerry (D-Mass.), wrote last month to the Food & Drug Administration, the agency that regulates the nation’s blood supply, to review what they called “outdated, medically and scientifically unsound deferral criteria” that exclude gay donors, according to a report in the Kansas City Star.

The FDA said it is “actively engaged in re-examining the issue of blood donor deferral” among gay men.

“Taking into account the current body of scientific information … we are considering the possibility of pursuing alternative strategies that maintain blood safety,” a recent FDA statement said.

A Health & Human Services advisory committee on blood safety plans to review the issue in June.

The federal government mandated a lifetime ban on blood donations from men who have had sex with men in the 1980s. The rationale was that HIV can be spread through blood transfusions, and gay men are more likely to carry HIV than the general population. But increasingly sophisticated tests are making it easier to detect HIV and a movement has begun seeking an end to the lifetime ban and bring the rules for gay blood donors more in line with restrictions placed on other potentially risky donors, according to the Kansas City Star report.

The FDA’s ban began in 1983, when blood collection facilities began telling donors to refrain from donating blood if they were in any of the groups at high risk of AIDS infection. But the rule for gay men excludes blood donations by all men who have had sex with another man, even one time, since 1977.

Obscure California law seeks cure for homosexuality

LOS ANGELES — A quirky California law requires health experts to find a cure for homosexuality and one lawmaker is working to overturn it.

Bonnie Lowenthal, author of Assembly Bill 2199, represents Long Beach in the California Assembly, and wrote a piece this week for the Los Angeles Times about the origins of the obscure 60-year-old law.

The law came in response to public outcry over sex crimes in California, specifically the molestation-murder of a 6-year-old girl, Lowenthal wrote, but the murderer was not a gay man and there was no connection between the crime and homosexuality.

“Well-meaning California legislators passed a law that not only required health officials to seek ‘the causes and cures of homosexuality,’” she wrote, “but likened people who are gay to child molesters. Amazingly, it’s still on the books. You might call it ‘Linda’s Law.’”

Linda Joyce Glucoft went out to play after dinner on Nov. 14, 1949, and never came home. She was raped and murdered by the grandfather of one of her playmates, a repeat sex offender, according to Lowenthal, and even before the killer had been sentenced to death, Gov. Earl Warren called a special session of the Legislature to deal with the issue of sexual predators. Lawmakers ordered the state’s mental hospitals and universities to find a solution.

“It was at this step, as the Legislature defined the role of science in solving the ‘sexual psychopath’ problem, that gay people — simply because they vexed the psychiatric profession — were swept up in the net,” Lowenthal explained. “In 1950, homosexuality remained, officially, a mental disorder. So when the Legislature promised funding for a study into the causes and cures of sexual deviance, it was, tragically, natural to add homosexuality to the list.”

One of the bills Warren signed included a command that the “Department of Mental Hygiene plan, conduct and cause to be conducted scientific research into the causes and cures of sexual deviation, including deviations conducive to sex crimes against children, and the causes and cures of homosexuality, and methods of identifying potential sex offenders.”

Assembly Bill 2199, authored by Lowenthal, seeks to overturn the law. It was set for its first hearing this week after DC Agenda deadline.

San Francisco backs early antiretroviral drugs for HIV

SAN FRANCISCO — The city’s Department of Public Health is expected to release new guidelines that call for HIV-positive patients to begin taking antiretroviral drugs as soon as they are diagnosed, the New York Times reported.

Previous guidelines directed physicians to delay antiretroviral treatment, due to potential side effects.

The new policy follows research that early HIV treatment can help patients live longer and decrease their likelihood of experiencing health complications such as cancer, heart disease or kidney failure, the Times reported.

Under the new guidelines, people who test positive for HIV will be offered combination antiretroviral therapy. Antiretroviral drugs currently cost about $12,000 per year and account for about $350 million of the California AIDS Drug Assistance Plan’s budget, according to the Times story.

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Health

UNAIDS to commemorate Zero Discrimination Day’s 10th anniversary

UN agency urges global action to protect human rights

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A UNAIDS anti-discrimination exhibit at Tocumen International Airport in Panama in 2018. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

As the world marks the 10th anniversary of Zero Discrimination Day; UNAIDS is sounding the alarm on the increasing threats to human rights, calling for renewed efforts to protect the rights of all individuals as a fundamental step towards ensuring health for everyone.

Established by UNAIDS a decade ago, Zero Discrimination Day aims to promote equality and fairness regardless of gender, age, sexuality, ethnicity or HIV status. The progress achieved over the past years is now in jeopardy, however, due to rising attacks on the rights of women, LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities.

UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima emphasized the critical link between protecting human rights and safeguarding public health. 

“The attacks on rights are a threat to freedom and democracy and are harmful to health,” she said in a press release. “Stigma and discrimination obstruct HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care and hold back progress towards ending AIDS by 2030. It is only by protecting everyone’s rights that we can protect everyone’s health.”

Despite challenges, there has been notable progress. 

At the onset of the AIDS pandemic more than 40 years ago, two-thirds of countries criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations. They are now decriminalized in two-thirds of countries. An additional 38 countries around the world have pledged to end HIV-related stigma and discrimination, contributing to positive changes that include 50 million more girls attending school compared to 2015.

To sustain and enhance these advancements; UNAIDS urges global support for women’s rights movements, LGBTQ rights, racial justice, economic justice, climate justice and peace initiatives. By standing with communities advocating for their rights, the U.N. aims to reinforce the collective effort towards a more inclusive and equitable world.

Zero Discrimination Day is observed on March 1.

Events and activities that will take place around the world throughout the month will serve as reminders of the essential lesson and call to action: Protecting everyone’s health is synonymous with protecting everyone’s rights.

“Through upholding rights for all, we will be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and secure a safer, fairer, kinder and happier world — for everyone,” said Byanyima.

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New CDC report finds transgender women at higher risk for HIV

More than 1,600 people in seven cities surveyed

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (Photo courtesy of the CDC)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new study report this week that revealed that restricted by employment and housing discrimination and lack of access to needed gender-affirming healthcare for transgender women increasing the risk of contracting HIV. 

Researchers reviewed data from a 2019-2020 survey, the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Among Transgender Women, which found that the demographics of HIV/AIDS have been disproportionally high, especially among Black and Latina trans women, who had experienced employment and housing discrimination coupled with lack of access to gender-affirming healthcare.

The Jan. 25 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report was based on data studies of more than 1,600 trans women in seven major urban locales. Participants from Atlanta, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle were chosen by referrals from people and community-based organizations who knew or were part of the local population of trans women.

The study’s researchers noted: “Employment discrimination occurs at the overlapping nexus of poverty, homelessness, incarceration, health insurance, disability, food insecurity and survival sex work. These issues are interconnected.”

The study stated that trans women’s inability to access quality healthcare, including gender-affirming treatment or access to PrEP, and can expose them to potential incarceration as many turn to “survival sex work” and violence, which increases the risk of contracting HIV. 

The study’s author’s pointed out: “When economically marginalized transgender women are refused employment, this refusal cyclically contributes to economic hardships. This analysis …demonstrates the importance of transgender women working and living with dignity and without fear of unfair treatment.”

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Health

A Whole New Perspective on Well-Being

The Mather’s team recognizes that everyone’s wellness journey is completely unique to their life experiences and influences.

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The Mather is incorporating biophilic design—a design approach to facilitate access to nature or things that replicate natural patterns.

It’s easy to spot the distinctive, elegant silhouette of The Mather, a Life Plan Community for those 62+ opening this spring in Tysons, Virginia. What is not apparent to the naked eye is The Mather’s unique wellness philosophy, which is literally built into the community. 

The Mather’s team recognizes that everyone’s wellness journey is completely unique to their life experiences and influences.

Nature is one of the important factors that contribute to well-being. So The Mather is incorporating biophilic design—a design approach to facilitate access to nature or things that replicate natural patterns. This can include interior spaces with sightlines to a garden, choosing natural wood and stone as interior materials, or incorporating fragrant flowers and plants indoors to spark memories and provide tactile opportunities such as gardening. 

Residents of The Mather will be able to select from plentiful amenities, programs, and other offerings to target their personal wellness goals and preferences.

“Providing biophilic design within interior settings connects residents to the natural world,” says Mary Leary, CEO and President of Mather, the organization behind The Mather. “Research shows that a connection to nature provides positive benefits to mental states and overall well-being. At The Mather, biophilic design is the intersection of buildings and programs with nature in an urban setting.”

“The Mather is attracting a diverse group of older adults,” says Mary. “As a result, we aim to incorporate wellness practices from around the world, including Wyda movement theory of the Celtic Druids, which helps people achieve harmony with nature and contentment through mindfulness.” This holistic regenerative approach is similar to Qi Gong and yoga, while born in a different part of the world. Mather Institute has a special focus on mindfulness to support older adults’ practice of present moment awareness, which can lead to increased overall well-being, compassion, and joy.

A very different example of a wellness offering at The Mather is the Gharieni Welnamis spa wave bed, which uses computer-controlled vibrational therapy and audio frequencies to train the brain to relax. “The bed increases mindfulness, concentration, and creativity—all of which support our mission of creating Ways to Age Well,SM” says Mary.

These and other personalized ways to wellness will ensure that residents of The Mather can choose from seemingly countless ways to focus on their well-being. In other words, the sky’s the limit!

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