Last week, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) released the following statement on the finalized guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding gay men and blood donation.

“Lifting the lifetime ban on blood donation for gay men is a long overdue step in the right direction, and I am also pleased the FDA has updated its policy regarding blood donation by transgender Americans,” said Senator Murray. “However, the one-year deferral policy continues to discriminate against healthy gay and bisexual men who wish to donate blood and contribute to the effort to save lives. I am committed to continuing to work with the FDA on additional steps to move to a system based on individual risk assessments, rather than continuing to ban countless Americans because of their sexual orientation.”