08/15/2026
For Chris O'Connor, donating blood was once a simple act of service.
As a college student, he and his friends regularly rolled up their sleeves when blood drives came to campus. Giving blood felt like a civic duty, a way to help someone they would likely never meet.
Then, Chris was told he was ineligible to donate blood as a gay man.
“It was a really traumatizing experience,” he said. “I walked out of there feeling less than.”
More than 30 years later, Chris was finally able to return to the donor chair.
Three years ago, we implemented updated FDA guidelines that ended blood donation policies based on sexual orientation, allowing more people to give while keeping the blood supply safe.
For Chris, the change represented an opportunity to do something he had wanted to do for decades.
“I haven’t been able to give and now I can give,” he said. “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.”
Returning to donate was a full-circle moment.
“It feels great,” Chris said. “Anyone could need blood at any given point. It’s really important for us, as the q***r community, for me, as a q***r person, to contribute for the better good of our community.”
