Historic blood shortage fuels calls for FDA to ease restrictions on gay men donating blood

Pressure is mounting on the Food and Drug Administration to eliminate longstanding restrictions on gay or bisexual men donating blood in the United States as the blood shortage reaches a dire level. 

Twenty-two U.S. senators penned a letter to the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services Thursday, urging them to replace the "discriminatory" rule that requires gay and bisexual men to abstain from sexual activity for three months before donating blood. 

"We must adopt evidence-based policies focused on assessment of an individual's risk, not inaccurate and antiquated stereotypes," they wrote. The group of senators also requested a briefing in the next month on the agency's plan to update its blood donation policies.