Blood Donations by Gay Men

So there's been a bit of a big thing recently about the FDA deciding whether or not gay men (or, as the form says, men who have "had sex with another man, even once, since 1977") will be allowed to give blood. As of right now, they're not allowed to. This measure was initiated at the start of the AIDS epidemic in an effort to prevent spread of the disease. However, since that time, there have been significant advances in technology which allows the blood banks to determine if the blood is safe for use or not in a fairly short time period. Thus why does the resistriction remain? It almost seems to be a social block against the GLBT community—and gay men in particular; a retention of old stereotypes.

Interestingly, while the FDA has chosen to uphold the restriction, it is the blood banks (such as the Red Cross) which are requesting the restriction be lifted and arguing most stridently against its continued restriction.

If you're interested, here's a link for an article on the issue from Time:
Ban Kept for Gay Men Donating Blood