Gay and bisexual men may be allowed to donate blood in the near future if a Health and Human Services Department pilot program to establish “alternative donor deferral criteria” for gay men comes to fruition. The department is seeking comments on how it should design the program. Because of new technology, donors can be tested more accurately for infections, which potentially eliminates the need to “continue an indefinite deferral” for a donor group, according to HHS. Since 1977, men who have sex with other men have been banned from donating blood. — Fatima Najiy
Inside First 