In high school, Daniel Gomez signed up to donate blood alongside his classmates — and he decided to disclose his sexuality on a medical form for the first time.
At the time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had banned gay and bisexual men from donating blood, so Gomez was turned away.
“I didn’t know that was a rule,” he said. “I was kind of heartbroken, but also, like, mortified.”
In 2015, the FDA repealed the ban with some caveats, and in 2023, the FDA established new screening rules that applied to all donors regardless of their gender and sexuality — making it easier for gay and bisexual men to give blood.
When the nonprofit Vitalant reached out to the San Luis Obispo County Gala Pride and Diversity Center to ask if they would host a blood drive, Gomez immediately volunteered to organize the event.
He was thrilled to share the new opportunity with the LGBTQ+ community, especially understanding that many of them had likely never had the chance to donate before, he said.
“I really knew the importance of the change,” Gomez said. “I think it’s exciting and emotional for a lot of us who have lived in a time where being gay wasn’t 100% accepted. I’m only 38, and I feel like even in my lifetime, it’s crazy to see the difference.”
On July 6, Vitalant and the Gala Pride and Diversity Center hosted the first-ever blood drive at its San Luis Obispo headquarters.
Vitalant collected 15 pints of blood, which could save up to 30 lives, Gomez said.
“I think its exciting for people to be able to help their community,” he said. “It was a really exciting thing to have men come in for the first time in their life — older men come in for their first time in their life — with excitement and donate.”
FDA changes rules for donating blood
In 1985, during the heat of the AIDS epidemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned gay and bisexual men from donating blood, according to the American Medical Association.
The FDA repealed the ban in 2015, and instead required gay and bisexual men to wait one year after having sex to donate blood. In 2020, the FDA shortened the abstinence period to 90 days.
Gomez said these rules were fueled by fears attached attached to HIV and AIDS.
“In the ‘80s, the AIDS crisis put this stigma on gay and bisexual men,” Gomez said.
In May 2023, the FDA updated its rules for donating blood yet again. Now, all blood donors regardless of their gender and sexuality are screened for HIV risk in the same way.
Every prospective donor completes a set of questions about their health and sexual habits before giving blood.
As of May 2023, any donor who had anal sex with a new partner during the previous 90 days could not give blood. Meanwhile, people in monogamous sexual relationships of any kind are allowed to donate blood. Additionally, people taking the HIV-prevention medication Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis , or PrEP, cannot donate their blood.
The goal of these rules is to protect the health of the donor and the safety of the blood supply, Vitalant spokesperson Kevin Adler said. All blood is tested for HIV before its distributed, he said.
Vitalant advocated for the rule change by participating in the Advance Study, which tested the new blood donor rules before the FDA adopted them, Adler said.
“The more people who donate blood, the more lives you save on the other end,” he said. “We are thrilled to have Gala support blood donation and host blood drives. We look forward to many more in the future.”
Gomez said the new rules combat the stigma around AIDS and the LGBTQ+ community.
“It’s just a big step forward in eliminating the stigma of like, ‘only gay men have AIDS,’ which we know is obviously not true,” Gomez said.
Atascadero resident Thom Waldman, 63, donated blood for the first time at the Pride Center.
“I was just happy to be able to do it,” Waldman. “It just felt good to be surrounded by my community, and we’re taking a step forward instead of a step back. It’s the little wins that we have to take in our stride.”
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