The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday lifted the 30-year old ban against blood donations by gay men. The agency said that homosexual men can now donate blood after a period of 12 months after their last sexual contact with another man. The US agency took the decision after the latest examination which showed that an indefinite ban is not essential to prevent the spread of HIV. HIV is a virus that can develop into AIDS. Deputy director of the FDA’s biologics division, Dr. Peter Marks in a statement said, “Ultimately, the 12-month deferral window is supported by the best available scientific evidence, at this point in time, relevant to the U.S. population.†With the decision, the United States has now joined countries like Australia, United Kingdom and New Zealand which also have the same 12-months deferment period for homosexual men when it comes to blood donation. However, gay rights advocates have called the updated policy still discriminatory. A Democratic congressman and co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, a caucus of openly gay members of Congress, Jared Polis said, “It is ridiculous and counter to the public health that a married gay man in a monogamous relationship can’t give blood, but a promiscuous straight man who has had hundreds of opposite sex partners in the last year can.†Explaining their stand, the FDA said that it has taken into consideration all inputs from outside advisor bodies and has worked with other government agencies along with “carefully examined the most recent available scientific evidence to support the current policy revision,†Reuters reported. FDA also said that ban on blood donations from people suffering from haemophilia and other blood clotting disorders will continue because of the possible harm the donor could suffer because of the large needles. These groups were however previously banned because of high risk of transmission of the HIV virus.