But why are gay men banned from donating in the first place? The blood bank has since stated that the reports are false. It's a contested position, to be sure, and in the aftermath of a devastating Orlando nightclub ambush during which a gunman killed about 50 patrons and injured at least as many, reports began to circulate that a Florida blood bank was rescinding the regulation that gay men can't give blood in a terribly ironic situation, because the club that was attacked, Pulse, has been a haven for members of the LGBT community. The Food and Drug Administration's official stance is that blood donation centers should not accept blood from gay men who have had sex with other men in the past year.
