“Our blood is no different than anyone else’s blood,” said Chris O’Connor, executive director of the Equality Community Center, a collaborative workplace for LGBTQ+ and allied social justice non-profit organizations that partnered with the Red Cross to host Portland’s first LGBTQ+ Blood Drive earlier this month.

For Chris, blood donation eligibility is deeply personal. He reflected on his time as a college student when he and his friends routinely gave blood. Chris saw it as his civic duty and the responsible thing for a young college kid to do.

At the end of his senior year, Chris came out as a gay man. He graduated college and went on to grad school in the Midwest, where they, too, held blood drives.

“I went to give blood – not even thinking twice about it,” he said.

During the health history, a question regarding sexual orientation came up.

“I answered the question truthfully because here I was finally having the confidence in myself to be out. It was at that point the nurse’s demeanor shifted and she said, ‘I’m sorry, we can’t take your blood.’ I didn’t understand and it was a really traumatizing experience. I walked out of there feeling ‘less than.’”

For many years, the Red Cross has worked to change the deferral policy regarding men who have sex with men (MSM). This work included decades of data collection and assessment on the impact to transfusion safety, ongoing advocacy to eliminate donor questions based on sexual orientation, and the Red Cross’ role as a leading contributor to the FDA-funded ADVANCE Study. This work helped the FDA develop a new eligibility screening process that makes blood donation more inclusive while continuing to ensure a safe blood supply.

“We recognize the hurt the previous FDA policy has caused and these are just the first steps in repairing relationships with the broader LGBTQ+ community,” said Steve Thomas, Red Cross Southern Maine Chapter executive director.

“We sat down and talked and there was a true authenticity to Steve’s outreach and what I sense was a true commitment to repair some of that harm,” Chris said.

In 2023, the Red Cross implemented the updated FDA blood donation guidelines which eliminated questions based on sexual orientation. Blood donation is now more inclusive, allowing more members of the LGBTQ+ community, including gay and bisexual men, to become eligible to donate based on individual risk, not sexual orientation.

“For me, I haven’t been able to give and now I can give. Granted it took too long, but I’m really grateful that the FDA saw the advances of science and testing, acknowledging the truly problematic and discriminatory ways of their former policies.”

More than 30 years after Chris was first told he wasn’t eligible to donate, he was back on the donor bed.

“It feels great,” he said. “Anyone could need blood at any given point. It’s really important for us, as the queer community, for me, as a queer person, to contribute for the better good of our community.”

Maine’s first LGBTQ+ Blood Drive at ECC collected 25 lifesaving donations and welcomed 13 first-time donors.

“I have always wanted to donate,” said Stacy Nicols. “This just felt like a safe space to try out something new for the first time.”

Stacy was a bit nervous but remained focused on why she was donating. Her one blood donation could help save more than one life.

“It feels amazing, honestly. It’s kind of hard to grasp that I can make that much of a difference!”

Donor Greg Kirby came to the drive after a decades-long donation hiatus.

“I used to donate all the time back in college 20+ years ago,” he said. “I started getting tattoos so I thought I couldn’t donate. I am also a gay male, and I thought we weren’t allowed to donate, so I stopped. But I always like to help.”

Greg’s stepfather recently needed several blood transfusions following a health issue. Seeing how much blood he needed inspired Greg to talk to the Red Cross about donating again.

“I see every day as an opportunity to reach out and help in some way. I think people need to remember that we get through life together because life is hard. But you can find ways to step up and help.”

Christine Caulfield serves on the board of the ECC. She is a cancer survivor and veteran, having served in the United States’ Marine Corps and the reserves.

“We all need blood. I was in the service for 12 years, and if you needed a transfusion, you didn’t care who it comes from,” she said. “After my first bout with cancer, I had a bleed and took two units of blood and I thought, if I ever get the chance again to donate, I’ll do it.”