The American Red Cross is now welcoming more donors into its lifesaving mission through updated FDA blood donation eligibility guidelines that eliminate longstanding broad, time-based deferrals based on sexual orientation.

This change means many healthy individuals who previously could not give will now be able to support their community through the gift of blood donation. Among those is Terry Brown, Chief Human Resources Officer at L.A. Care and Red Cross Los Angeles board member, who was a regular blood donor in his younger years before the FDA’s previous policies made him ineligible to donate as a gay man.

After nearly 40 years, Terry was finally able to give blood on Aug. 22 thanks to the new FDA guidelines at the L.A. Care blood drive in downtown Los Angeles.

“I'm excited that this finally happened,” said Terry, “I’m going to look at this as a positive effort for the community, that we are able to give blood again.” Now, Terry and many others are able to share their good health with patients in need of lifesaving transfusions.

The Red Cross celebrates this historic move as significant progress and remains committed to achieving an inclusive blood donation process that treats all potential donors with equality and respect while maintaining the safety of the blood supply. The Red Cross is committed to achieving further progress and will continue to provide data to the FDA in support of making blood donation even more inclusive.

Learn more
The Red Cross welcomes everyone who wishes to be part of our humanitarian mission. You can learn more about these updates as part of our Eligibility FAQs. There is also information specific to the LGBTQ+ community on our LGBTQ+ Donors page.

About the American Red Cross: 

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org/la or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCrossLA.