Op-Ed: The FDA’s New ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Policy for Blood Donation

For decades now, gay men have been barred from giving blood. Last week, the FDA put out a new and more inclusive plan: Sexually active gay and bisexual people would be permitted to donate so long as they have not recently engaged in anal sex with new or multiple partners. Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine, the first Senate-confirmed transgender official in the U.S., issued a statement commending the proposal for “advancing equity.” It “treats everyone the same,” she said, “regardless of gender and sexual orientation.” Read more in an op-ed by Benjamin Mazer, a gay pathologists who is affected by these proposed policy changes more than most Americans.