Despite the fact that every drop of blood donated is tested for every disease including AIDS and other diseases the FDA has demonized and stigmatized gay men for decades.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced it had officially eliminated SOME restrictions that had previously prohibited many blood donations by gay and bisexual men from giving blood.

In a news release, the agency said it will recommend a series of “individual risk-based questions” that will be the same for every blood donor, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender or sex. Those who have had anal sex with a new sexual partner, or more than one sexual partner, within the last three months would be asked to wait to donate blood.

With the updated guidelines, most gay and bisexual men who are in a monogamous relationship with a man will no longer have to refrain from sex in order to donate blood. With the EXCEPTION of anyone taking HIV medications — including people who are HIV negative who are taking medications called PrEP to prevent infection.

The original blood donation ban, which was implemented in the 1980s during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, prohibits men who have had sex with other men (MSM) from donating blood for 12 months after their last sexual encounter. In 2020, the ban was revised to reduce the deferral period to three months.

In the past the American Medical Association, the American Red Cross, and numerous other health organizations have called for the ban to be lifted entirely, as it is not based on scientific evidence but the FDA has always ignored them

For decades the FDA policy perpetuated a harmful stereotypes that stigmatize and discriminated against gay and bisexual men. . It implied that all are inherently diseased and dangerous, and reinforced the hate of anti-gay activist and the notion that gay men were they less worthy of donating blood than their heterosexual counterparts.

Still not there yet.