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Three different types of blood donations.

The AIDS epidemic that began in the early '80s cast a stigma on all men who have sex with men, regardless of their HIV status. The idea that gay and bisexual men were somehow dangerous to the general public because of a health crisis in their community added to the stigmatization that already came with being LGBTQ.

In 1983, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned all men who have sex with men from donating blood. This rule stood until 2015 when the FDA lifted the lifetime ban for gay and bisexual males and limited it to men who had homosexual sex within the past year.

In 2020, the FDA eased restrictions on men who have sex with men again, due to a blood shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The abstinence period was shortened from a year to three months.


Now, the FDA looks to ease restrictions even further by eliminating bans based on sexuality and instead, focusing on individual risk through questionnaires. On November 30, the FDA released a statement saying it “will likely support a policy transition to individual risk-based donor screening questions for reducing the risk of HIV transmission.”

“The FDA remains committed to gathering the scientific data related to alternative donor deferral policies that maintain a high level of blood safety,” the statement continued. “We anticipate issuing updated draft guidance in the coming months.”

The FDA's announcement came a day ahead of World AIDS Day. This year's theme is “Putting Ourselves to the Test: Achieving Equity to End HIV.”

The statement was well-received by GLAAD, although the organization believes that the FDA has been behind the times on the issue for years.

“While today’s reports of an overdue move from the FDA is an important step, our community and leading medical experts will not stop advocating for the FDA to lift all restrictions against qualified LGBTQ blood donor candidates,” it said in a statement. “As LGBTQ leaders and medical experts have been saying for years: bans and restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men are rooted in stigma, not science. Giving one set of rules to some people, and another set of rules to others, based purely on identity, is blatant discrimination.”

An FDA official told The Wall Street Journal that under the new guidelines, potential donors would be asked if they had anal intercourse with a new sexual partner within the past three months. Those who answer no will be allowed to donate.

Earlier this year, France and Greece lifted their bans on men who have sex with men completely. Greece announced the ban in January and it was applauded by LGBTQ rights groups.

“Lifting this long-lasting ban on blood donation was the least this government had to do,” Irene Petropoulou, chairperson of OLKE, a nongovernmental organization that fights for LGBT+ rights, said, according to Greek Reporter “Of course, it is great news, and we hope the government will pay more attention to other discriminations in the healthcare system and education."

France made its announcement in January as well.

“Starting on March 16, 2022, all French people, whatever their sexual orientation, will be able to donate blood,” Health Minister Olivier Véra said. “We are ending an inequality that is no longer justified,” he added.

You might know Danai Gurira from "The Walking Dead."

She plays the fierce, zombie-slaying Michonne on TV, but this Zimbabwean-American actress is fighting to rid the world of an epidemic in real life.

Image via Gene Page/AMC.


Gurira grew up in southern Africa in the 1980s and '90s and witnessed the horrors brought about by the rise of HIV/AIDS in local communities.

She's since decided to use her platform to help.

Image via iStock.

Gurira is an advocate for Nyumbani Village in Kenya — the first village in Africa founded for children and elders living with HIV/AIDS.

When the pandemic began to rise in Africa, a startling number of children born with HIV were abandoned. Many more who lost their parents to AIDS were turned away from orphanages. Families were fractured as middled-aged people died, leaving behind the very young and elderly.

The founder of Nyumbani, Father Angelo D'Agostino, first opened an orphanage on a shoestring budget that only supported two children. After he died, his organization realized his greatest dream: a holistic, beautiful village for orphans and grandparents living with HIV/AIDS.

Located on more than 1,000 acres of land, Nyumbani Village is a vibrant, sustainable community complete with free schooling, health care, and psychosocial support.

It's a thriving hub for innovative green technology and building methods where residents grow and harvest their own food. Instead of housing children in traditional orphanages, Nyumbani prefers to create loving families by pairing kids with grandparents who also have AIDS.  

Photo via Ben Curtis/CBS News/AP.

Nyumbani — which means "home" in Swahili — has since given thousands of children and elders affected by AIDS a place to live and thrive. It’s also become a model for other African villages who are affected.

Currently 69% of the 34 million AIDS-affected people worldwide live in sub-Saharan Africa. That's why we need to support organizations like Nyumbani.

Gurira believes that looking out for others is central to the spirit of African culture.

"I love what Nyumbani's doing because it brings back the integrity of that really essential component of African life, which is, we take care of each other," Gurira said.

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