![Donorx390](https://www.advocate.com/media-library/donorx390.jpg?id=32725183&width=1200&height=876)
CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
James Stewart Jr., a Kansas City, Mo., college student, started a Facebook group after he was turned away from giving blood because he is gay.
The nurse registering donors "looked at me and said I'd be deferred indefinitely from giving blood, and essentially unless the rule was changed, it would be something I'd never be able to do," Stewart told WDAF TV, a Fox affiliate. "No one has ever told me before I couldn't do something based on my sexual orientation. This is the first time I've ever felt discriminated against."
Last month several U.S. senators asked the Food and Drug Administration to review the lifetime ban on blood donations by men who have had sex with men. The FDA said it is reexamining the policy.
The ban was implemented in 1992 and prohibits men who have sex with men from donating blood; the FDA said the measure was necessary to prevent the spread of HIV. The American Red Cross, America's Blood Centers and AABB endorse amending the law.
Stewart's Facebook group can be found here.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
21+ steamy photos of Scotland’s finest gay men in Elska Glasgow
February 01 2024 10:07 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and trans man George Schappell dead at 62
April 27 2024 6:13 PM
Latest Stories
Kamala Harris rides wave of Democratic energy at kickoff event in Wisconsin
July 23 2024 3:36 PM
'Devastated:' A six-week abortion ban will go into effect in Iowa next week
July 23 2024 2:28 PM
Four hours, 44,000 Black women, and one Zoom call
July 23 2024 2:17 PM
Record 1.2 million people show out for Cologne’s Pride parade
July 23 2024 10:51 AM
Here's how far-right activist Leonard Leo helped fund Bud Light boycott
July 23 2024 10:27 AM
Elon Musk’s comments about his trans daughter prove why she doesn’t speak to him
July 23 2024 9:16 AM
Nancy Pelosi endorses Kamala Harris for president
July 22 2024 4:07 PM
Charli XCX declares Kamala Harris IS brat & our next President's campaign agrees
July 22 2024 3:08 PM