By Josh Davis, Red Cross volunteer

Jim Rich knew what donated blood could mean to a family. He had stood beside the beds of people he loved as they received transfusions and, during his own surgeries, blood had been ready if he needed it.

He wanted to help someone else have that same chance.

“Blood is something that can’t be grown or manufactured,” Rich said. “It’s the core of human life.”

But for Rich, an LGBTQ+ donor in the Washington, D.C., area, wanting to give hadn’t been enough. Previous eligibility restrictions had kept him from donating. He was frustrated, and some of that frustration was directed at the American Red Cross.

Then a friend of several decades who works for the Red Cross set him straight on something that would change his mind – and put him in a donor chair.

The old restrictions came from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, his friend explained. The Red Cross had to follow them. But the rules had since changed.

“I wanted to donate, but could not,” Rich said. “Then, after talking more with my friend, who encouraged me, I made my first donation.”

The Red Cross implemented updated FDA blood donation guidelines in August 2023, eliminating eligibility questions based on sexual orientation. All prospective donors now answer the same screening questions, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, and are assessed based on individual risk factors. Donors must still meet all eligibility requirements.

For Rich, that change became personal this summer.

During a sweltering heat wave, he went to the Red Cross in Fairfax, Virginia to give blood for the first time. He was nervous. The people helping him made it easy, he said.

From start to finish, his whole blood donation took about an hour.

“I had great people at the location to help me,” he said.

Now he hopes other eligible donors, including LGBTQ+ people who may be unsure about giving, will take that first step.

“No matter your sexual orientation, we all need blood,” Rich said.

He thinks about the people receiving it, and the families standing beside their beds.

“It takes so little time, and has such a huge impact on the person receiving blood and their families,” he said.

There was another benefit, too.

“Plus, the Nutter Butters in the canteen taste so much better” after the donation, he added.

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Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs a lifesaving blood transfusion. Ready to help? Check your eligibility and schedule an appointment at RedCrossBlood.org.