PETITION CLOSED

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Urge the FDA to Overturn the Gay Blood Ban
  1. Signatures
    468 out of 500
    Petitioning
    1. FDA Commissioner (Margaret Hamburg)
  2. Created By
    Michael Jones
    Boston, MA
About this Petition Petition Letter

Since the early 1980s, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has barred gay men from donating blood. The policy, implemented at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis, says that any man who has had sex with another man after 1977 is not allowed to donate blood.

While the policy was originally intended to keep the nation's blood supply safe, there's absolutely no reason to keep the ban in place today. Indeed, gay men are told they can't donate blood, while many other groups that are far more at-risk for STDs -- folks who have sex with commercial sex workers, for instance -- are able to give blood after a year's waiting period. 

Beyond that, as U.S. Sen. John Kerry writes, "not a single piece of scientific evidence supports the ban." All blood is rigorously tested after it is donated and current technology is sophisiticated enough to detect HIV within days or weeks of infection.

It's time that the FDA lift the ban on gay blood. Urge FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to put an end to the ban on gay blood. In the wake of regular shortages in the nation's blood supply, this ban can't be lifted fast enough.

Recent Signatures

Overturn the FDA's Ban on Gay Blood

Dear Commissioner Hamburg,

Since the mid-1980s, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has prevented gay men from donating blood. This policy was put in place at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis, in order to guarantee that America's blood supply was safe.

But more than 25 years later, the time has come for the FDA to overturn this ban. The ban clearly discriminates against gay men, many of whom would be qualified blood donors. Indeed, all men are denied the chance to give blood if they've had sex with another man after 1977. That blanket ban lumps all gay men into the same category, and assumes that their blood is contaminated regardless of their sexual history and commitment to safe-sex practices.

Meanwhile, many other groups at high risk for sexually-transmitted diseases -- including men and women who have sex with commercial sex workers -- are able to give blood after a year-waiting period. Is there a reason that some groups are given a year-waiting period, while other groups, like gay men, are given a blanket ban?

Moreover, as 20 U.S. Senators have shared with you, there's no scientific evidence suggesting that the ban on gay blood is effective. On the contrary, as U.S. Sen. John Kerry writes, "The three largest blood donation organizations in our country -- the American Red Cross, America’s Blood Centers, and AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banks) -- all agree calling the ban 'medically and scientifically unwarranted.'"

It's time to do away with the ban on gay blood. I urge you to work to change existing law that unnecessarily bars gay men from donating blood. Our nation's blood supply frequently dips to dangerously low levels. There's literally not time to waste.

Thank you.

[Your name]

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