For the first time since the policy was introduced in the early days of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, the FDA will amend its ban on blood donations by gay and bisexual men. The proposed rule change would eliminate the current deferral period, which is indefinite, to one that would be one year since the last sexual contact. Medical groups, as well as other foreign governments, have said the lifetime ban is not supported by any scientific reasoning. The proposed rule change will be issued in 2015.
