The policy was revised in 2015 to a 12-month deferral period - meaning that in order to donate blood, MSMs needed to abide by a year-long abstinence span - and revised again in April 2020 to three months, citing the “urgent need for blood” at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 1983, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) barred blood donations from all men who have had sex with men (MSM) after 1977 “to reduce the transmission of HIV by blood and blood products.” “Knowing that I wasn’t able to donate made me feel almost useless,” Graham said, adding: “It definitely made me feel like I wasn’t contributing in a meaningful way to something that’s super easy to do.” “I was ineligible because of the FDA’s ban on men who have sex with men donating blood and/or blood products,” the 26-year-old Navy veteran said. “It’s personal,” Graham told Spectrum News’ Samantha-Jo Roth, noting that his desire to donate dates back to high school and his service in the military - and when his younger cousin needed a bone marrow transplant a few years ago. Jude Graham has always wanted to give blood.
