Almost two decades later, I still cringe when I walk by a blood drive poster on the bulletin board outside my office. I feel degraded to be constantly dehumanized by this ban. I feel embarrassed to want to save lives and be told that I am not capable of such acts.

Blood donations were down 10 percent this past month, according to a recent CNN article. If you would like to donate, the Red Cross would be more than happy to draw blood from you -- unless, of course, you are gay like me.

Gay men have been prohibited from donating blood in the U.S. since the 1980s, at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Earlier this month, France annou...

We zeroed in on an issue that we all felt needed to be changed: the Food and Drug Administration's policy that bans men who have had sex with men (MSM) even once since 1977 from ever donating blood.

A heterosexual person who has sex with an HIV-positive partner is eligible to donate blood after only 12 months. Yet all gay and bisexual men, even those who are HIV-negative, practice safe sex, or in monogamous relationships, are permanently banned.