Donor Discrimination

Blood donation requirements for gay men are based on outdated fear, not science. Most people don’t realize that gay men can’t give blood unless they’ve been abstinent for 12 months (a previous lifetime ban was repealed in 2015.) A straight man with an active chlamydia or herpes infection can donate, but a gay man in a monogamous relationship can’t. Countries like Italy, Spain, and Poland use evidence-based risk assessment instead of sexual orientation to determine eligibility and have seen no increase in transfusion-based transmission of HIV.

So, how do you raise support to change the outdated requirements while providing much-needed blood to thousands of people? By holding a first-of-its-kind event during
Pride Month on World Blood Donor Day.