Implement change in current blood donation policies
Early in the 1980s, the United States faced an HIV/AIDS epidemic. Not much was known about the emergent virus, except the misconception that it was a “gay plague.” The original disease was called Gay-Related Immune Deficiency, but soon, as cases outside of the gay community started to sprout, the disease was referred to as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. In 1983, the Food and Drug Administration issued the first blood donor deferral policy, which prohibited men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood if they have had a single sexual encounter with another man any time since 1977. According to the American Red Cross, the U.S. is in a constant shortage of blood; with someone requiring a blood transfusion about every two seconds, the ban could pose an obstacle to saving more lives, not to mention that it is inherently prejudiced.
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