# Men Who Have Had Sex With Men (MSM) — Blood donor deferral criteria compared across national blood services

For Men Who Have Had Sex With Men (MSM), blood service is American Red Cross (US); waiting period is no waiting period; condition is individual donor assessment regardless of gender or sexual orientation implemented Aug. 7, 2023; outcome is individual assessment, recorded from its source on 2026-08-06.

- **Criterion:** Men Who Have Had Sex With Men (MSM)
- **Blood service:** American Red Cross (US) _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Waiting period:** no waiting period
- **Condition:** individual donor assessment regardless of gender or sexual orientation implemented Aug. 7, 2023
- **Outcome:** individual assessment _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> This change eliminated previous FDA eligibility criteria based on sexual orientation, which restricted sexually active gay and bisexual men from giving blood.

## Source

- https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/eligibility-requirements/eligibility-criteria-alphabetical.html

Last verified: 2026-08-06. Review by: 2027-02-02.
Part of [Blood donor deferral criteria compared across national blood services](https://referencesource.org/blood-donor-deferral-criteria/).