Israel is ending their ban on blood donation from queer men. Why isn’t America?

Israel is ending all restrictions in place that limit men from donating blood in any way simply because they have sex with men. Gay and bisexual men will now be held to the same standard as all other people seeking to give blood.

The policy puts Israel in the growing number of nations that are changing policies around blood or tissue donation regulations to take away past restrictions placed on gay and bisexual men. That has left people to wonder why America is behind on the issue.

Related: An out politician recounts how he saved his gay neighbor’s life by donating his kidney

Nitzan Horowitz, the out Minister of Health in Israel, proclaimed, “There’s no difference between one blood and the other. Discrimination against gays in donating blood is over.” Horowitz first promised the changes in June.

The policy goes into effect in October.

“This is a landmark moment for the entire LGBTQ community in Israel and a step closer toward equality for everyone,” American LGBTQ advocacy group A Wider Bridge wrote in a Facebook post.

In 2018, Israel removed restrictions allowing any gay and bisexual men to donate blood, regardless on when they last had sexual relationships with men. The country’s emergency medical service Magen David Adom (MDA), which handles blood donations, announced all blood would be screened twice for a two-year trial period, regardless of the donor’s sexual orientation.

Prior to 2018, Israel denied men from donating if they had sex with men in the 12 months prior. That was the United States’ policy as well, until 2020.

Argentina, Brazil, Hungary, Italy, and South Africa are just some countries that now have no restrictions on MSM donating blood — while America is still…

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