Mon, Jan 8th, 2024 - 11:55am
May 11, 2023 - 2:53pm | By Tom Tucker
(Silver Spring, MD) -- The FDA will no longer restrict blood donations based on someone's sexual orientation.
Gay and bisexual men were first banned from donating blood by the FDA during the 1980s HIV-AIDs crisis.
Advocates have long fought for the change, saying the HIV epidemic has long since changed.
The FDA will now take an "individual risk-based" approach to reducing the risk of HIV infections through blood donations.
The risk assessment will be the same for everyone who wants to donate regardless of their sexual orientation.
