New FDA rules for gay men donating blood

On Monday, December 21 the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it is changing its guidelines for blood donations to allow gay men to donate blood - so long as they have not had sexual contact with a man in at least a year. 

Previously the FDA supported a lifetime ban on gay men donating blood.

On the one hand, the new FDA rule allows gay men to donate blood where they were previously denied that life-saving contribution to society.

On the other hand, the FDA rule is still arguably discriminatory.

"It is ridiculous and counter to the public health that a married gay man in a monogamous relationship can't give blood, but a promiscuous straight man who has had hundreds of opposite sex partners in the last year can," said U.S. Rep. Jared Polis. 

Others argue that gay men are still statistically more likely to be HIV-positive, so restrictions on blood donation make sense.