Thousands of gay and bisexual men along with their supporters have launched a nationwide protest to condemn the longstanding Food and Drug Administration ban on gay blood donors.
More than 50 demonstrations were held nationwide recently as part of the National Gay Blood Drive in the United States, calling for the FDA to reconsider its policy prohibiting men who have had sex with men from donating blood due to potential HIV risk.
The National Gay Blood Drive was launched to persuade men who had sex with men to donate blood despite the fact that they will be automatically disqualified after HIV testing.
The HIV test results of those who participated in the demonstration will be compiled and sent to the FDA to prove that the controversial policy should be abolished.
The nationwide demonstrations were organized by independent filmmaker Ryan James Yezak, who saw the need to express his disgust after he was forced to explain to his co-workers that he was not allowed to donate blood because he was gay.
"There's a really alienating feeling. That's the first time I felt direct anti-gay discrimination and once you feel that you can't ignore it," Yezak told ABC News.
Yezak is hoping that the FDA will finally end the policy, which was crafted in 1977. During that year, a man who had sex with another man was prohibited from donating blood due to the AIDS crisis in the United States.
Yezak believes that instead of using sexual orientation as qualifying critera for donating blood, a policy based on behavior linked to HIV should be crafted. Another option is to adopt a policy similar to that of Canada and the United Kingdom. In those countries, men are allowed to donate blood as long as they abstain from sex with men for a certain period of time.
Aside from organizing the National Gay Blood Drive, the 26-year-old filmmaker said that he will also release a documentary in the future about sexual orientation discrimination.
The FDA, which previously said that 61 percent of HIV infections in the United States in 2010 were recorded from men who had sex with men, released a statement, but did not take a clear stand on the new policy suggested by protesters.
"FDA's primary responsibility with regard to blood and blood products is to assure the safety of patients who receive these life-saving products. We applaud the critical contributions made by blood donors and we are sensitive to the concerns of potential donors and other individuals affected by current blood safety policies," an FDA spokesperson told ABC News.
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