authorize the FDA to permit gay men to donate blood after a one year deferral period.

Gay men should be allowed to donate blood. The FDA currently states "Men who have had sex with other men (MSM), at any time since 1977 (the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the United States) are currently deferred as blood donors." The American Red Cross, the American Medial Association, and the blood banks believe that this ban is "medically unwarranted". This is no longer relevant because each and every pint of blood donated is checked for a variety of diseases including AIDS. This petition agrees with the American Red Cross's proposal that gay men should be allowed to donate blood after a year off of having sex with another man, which is currently the policy in many other countries. Not letting gay men donate blood is simply denying patients to the healthy blood that they need.