--- title: FDA Panel Supports Lifting Ban on Blood Donations from Gay Men description: The panel voted 16-2 in favor canonical: https://time.com/3585329/fda-blood-donations-gay-bisexual-men/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-14T11:28:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:23.262Z article:section: Health og:title: FDA Panel Supports Lifting Ban on Blood Donations from Gay Men og:description: The panel voted 16-2 in favor og:url: https://time.com/3585329/fda-blood-donations-gay-bisexual-men/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: FDA Panel Supports Lifting Ban on Blood Donations from Gay Men twitter:description: The panel voted 16-2 in favor twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # U.S. Panel Supports Lifting Ban on Blood Donations from Gay Men > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=968bfb7c-eb2a-4190-be2f-a1f3b7e554c6&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: See What You Missed This Week [Watch (HLS stream): See What You Missed This Week](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/VmCGKpJz.m3u8) (1:19)  _Published 2014-11-14. Here are four of the biggest stories for the second week of November._ by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Nov 14, 2014 11:28 AM UTC by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Nov 14, 2014 11:28 AM UTC **Correction appended, Nov. 14** A federal panel voted Thursday in favor of partially lifting a 31-year ban against accepting blood donations from gay and bisexual men. The current ban in the U.S. applies to any potential male blood donor who has had sex with another man since 1977, the start of the country’s AIDS epidemic. The FDA website [states](http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/BloodBloodProducts/QuestionsaboutBlood/ucm108186.htm) that these men are at an “increased risk for HIV, hepatitis B and certain other infections that can be transmitted by transfusion.” The Department of Health and Human Service’s Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety and Availability examined data and heard testimony on Thursday from [critics of the lifetime ban](http://time.com/2975958/this-national-blood-drive-is-fighting-the-fda-ban-on-gay-donors/), who say it is discriminatory and now unnecessary, since technological advances have made the risk infinitesimal in most cases. The panel then voted 16-2 in support of allowing men who have had sex with other men to give blood after being abstinent for one year, _Bloomberg Businessweek_ reports. The FDA is not obliged to follow the panel’s advice but Jennifer Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the agency, said “the meeting provided valuable information and perspectives that will help inform the FDA’s deliberations.” Other countries, including the U.K., Australia and Canada, have revised their policies to allow gay and bisexual men to donate blood after a year or five years of abstinence from same-sex encounters. _\[_[_Businessweek_](http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-11-13/blood-donations-by-gay-men-backed-by-u-dot-s-dot-panel-for-first-time)_\]_ **Correction:** The original version of this story misstated the organization that backed lifting the blood donor ban. It is a Department of Health and Human Services panel. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] I indicated to Speaker Boehner several months ago, that if, in fact, Congress failed to act. I would use all the lawful authority that I possess, to try to make the system work better ,. And that's gonna happen. 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