Hospitals and blood banks are seeking blood donations after a mass shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub that claimed at least 50 lives early Sunday morning and wounded at least 53 more.
But restrictions on who can donate blood mean that many gay men are prohibited from giving back.
Until last December, the FDA had banned any men who had previously had sexual relations with other men from donating blood at all in the United States. Though the FDA lifted that lifetime ban, it still recommended only accepting donations from male donors who hadn’t had sex with another man for at least a year.
Some reports suggested that blood banks were taking donated blood from those willing, regardless of their sexual orientation. One social media user reported that Orlando blood bank OneBlood was “accepting all donors” regardless of past sexual history, though all blood was being fully screened. Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan also told MSNBC that she “understands” that OneBlood is taking donations from gay men, Gawker reported.
But OneBlood said Sunday afternoon despite those reports, it was adhering to the FDA’s directive on gay donors on its Twitter.