In the wake of the Pulse shooting, the FDA announced it would pursue more research regarding its current policy but David Stacy, with the human rights campaign says the research is already there. All of the blood that is donated is screened for infectious diseases, including HIV,” Applebaum said. There is really no scientific basis for this.

“I really think there’s a stigma about HIV and there is a lot of fear about it. Florida State University Clinical Medicine Professor Doctor Jonathan Applebaum says this FDA policy perpetuates a stigma that gay men have HIV and AIDS. Late in 2015 the FDA expunged its lifetime ban allowing gay men to donate with one restriction, they have to be celibate for 12 months. Twelve months later, a Food and Drug administration rule preventing sexually active gay men from giving blood still stands. After the incident, people lined up to give blood, and gay men pushed for the right to help their friends. It’s been about a year since a gunman killed 49 people in Orlando’s Pulse Night Club – a popular spot among members of the lesbian, gay bisexual, and transgender community.