Call on HHS and the FDA to lift their ban on gay and bisexual men from donating blood.

Their is a constant need for blood and donors are essential in maintaining an adequate supply. Gay and bisexual men cannot donate blood in the U.S. due to a ban imposed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1983, when there was no effective and simple test to detect HIV in blood. Although every donors blood is tested for HIV, AIDS, as well as other possible viruses, the FDA regulation bans any gay or bisexual man from donating period. When asked why the ban is still in place, and whether the FDA is in the process of considering a change, an FDA spokesperson told TIME that the agency is willing to consider changing its policy, but only if available data showed that lifting the ban provided no additional risk to people receiving donated blood. Lets end this ban and save more lives!