After spending years advocating against the FDA-enacted restrictions that critics believe to be discriminatory against gay and bisexual men, Adam Joseph donated blood for the first time at a blood drive in Devon, writes TaRhonda Thomas for 6ABC. 

“[I] never thought it would come to the point where I could actually lay here,” said Joseph on Monday as he lay on one of the tables set up by the American Red Cross for blood donors at Saint Luke Lutheran Church. 

Originally, the FDA banned gay and bisexual men from donating blood during the HIV epidemic of the 1980s. In 2015, they were allowed to donate blood but only if they were abstinent for 12 months. During COVID, that limitation was lowered to three months. The policy applied even to individuals in monogamous relationships like Joseph. 

Joseph, who is a meteorologist, used his platform to speak out. 

“Most people had no idea that there was a ban in place,” he said. 

Finally, in May, the FDA, backed by scientific studies on safety, made gay and bisexual men eligible to give blood with no restrictions. 

Read more about Adam Joseph at 6ABC.