Sheryl J. Moore has been advocating for the past decade to update the rules about gay men donating tissue since she lost her eldest son, Alexander “AJ” Betts Jr., to suicide in 2013 and his corneas went to waste.
KC McGinnis for KFF Health News hide caption Until 2015, men who have had sex with another man weren’t allowed to donate blood – and there were still limits on their donations until last year, when the federal government lifted those. Restrictions on organ donations were reduced in 2020. But the FDA’s restrictions on donated tissue, a catchall term encompassing everything from a person’s eyes to their skin and ligaments, remain in place.
Advocates, lawmakers, and groups focused on removing barriers to cornea donations, in particular, said they are frustrated the FDA hasn’t heeded their calls. They want to align the guidelines for tissue donated by gay and bisexual men with those that apply to the rest of the human body. Such groups have been asking the FDA for years to reduce the deferral period from five years to 90 days, meaning a man who has had sex with another man would be able to donate tissue as long as such sex didn’t occur within three months of his death.
One of the loudest voices on lightening the restrictions is Sheryl J. Moore, who has been an advocate since her 16-year-old son’s death in 2013. Alexander “AJ” Betts Jr.
’s internal organs were successfully donated to seven people, but his eyes were rejected because of a single quest.
