See Eric Paulk’s statement on the prejudicial blood ban below:

The prohibition on gay and bisexual men from donating blood is prejudicial and discriminatory. What was once a blanket policy empty of tact is now an embarrassing relic perpetuating LGBTQ+ and HIV stigma. The ban on blood donation is not rooted in public health science and is needlessly redundant given testing and harm reduction measures. Abolishing this policy better represents the science, does away with gratuitous stigma against the gay and bisexual population, and increases the supply of blood donation for those in critical need.

Eric Paulk (he/him) is a lawyer and advocate working on issues impacting LGBTQ communities and communities of people living with and vulnerable to HIV acquisition. He currently serves as deputy director of Georgia Equality where he develops and manages local, state, and federal policy and advocacy activities that advance equity and fairness for LGBTQ communities and improves public and private responses to the HIV epidemic. Eric is also currently serving as a Soros Justice Fellow at Open Society Foundations, where he will build a nationwide network of Black HIV movement lawyers to protect, defend, and support communities of people living with HIV through policy and other reform measures.