The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently provided guidance to implement a gender-inclusive, individual risk assessment of all blood donors to reduce the risk of HIV in the blood supply. This will give more people the opportunity to donate blood. “We’re so excited that we’ve moved away from the question being based on men who have sex with men, and even their female sex partners, to an individual risk assessment, which asks specifically about high-risk behaviors,” said Dr. Kirsten Alcorn, co-chief medical officer of BloodWorks Northwest. Bloodworks NW will implement these new donor guidelines on December 6, making blood donation more inclusive. The FDA’s previous blood donation eligibility criteria based on sexual orientation, which didn’t allow sexually active gay and bisexual men to give blood, will no longer be used. Questions asked before blood donation assess safety for the donor and the person who receives their blood. The questionnaire will now ask all donors about sex partners within the last three months. Mark Dyce-Ryan has an appointment scheduled on December 6 to give blood and hopes many other gay men will follow his lead. “It’s been decades since I’ve been sitting on the bench, so for me to be able to come forth and do the most selfless thing and most unconditional loving thing in giving blood and saving lives, I’m really excited about it,” Dyce-Ryan said. It takes 1,000 donors a day to sustain a blood supply for patients in the Pacific Northwest. “Most healthy adults are actually eligible to donate blood but only a few percent do,” Dr, Alcorn said. “So, if we could increase it even by just a small percentage, we would see a much more stable blood supply.” Dyce-Ryan is ready to make a difference when the guidelines officially change at Bloodworks NW in December. “The LGBTQ+ community should feel very proud,” he said. “Stand up and go make an appointment today. It really does fill the heart. I can’t wait.” Learn more about donating blood and the updated guidelines on the Bloodworks NW website. Sponsored by Bloodworks Northwest. Segment Producer Rebecca Perry. Watch New Day Northwest 11 a.m. weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.