Blood Mirror-9 Men Protest FDA Ban on Gay Blood Donors HD

NINE GAY MEN GIVE BLOOD TO PROTEST THE FDA’S BAN ON BLOOD DONATIONS FROM GAY & BISEXUAL MEN - Film by Leo Herrera, Sculpture by Jordan Eagles, Music by The Carry Nation Donated blood used to create sculpture, BLOOD MIRROR, by Jordan Eagles. Leo Herrera, activist/filmmaker, documented process in original short film. In 1983, in an early response to the AIDS crisis, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented a lifetime ban on gay and bisexual male blood donors. Over 30 years later, on May 13, 2015, the FDA proposed an updated policy that would finally allow gay and bisexual men to donate blood, but only if they are celibate for a full year. There is no celibacy requirement for heterosexuals, regardless of their risk for contracting HIV. The proposed new FDA policy is currently open for public comment for 60 days, ending on July 14, 2015. A UCLA Williams Institute study found that lifting the ban completely could save up to a million lives annually. Please leave a public comment until July 14, 2015 http://www.regulations.gov/index.jsp#!submitComment;D=FDA-2015-D-1211-0001 In 2015, artist Jordan Eagles enlisted a group of nine extraordinary gay men, each with a unique life story, to donate their blood in protest of the FDA’s ban and for the creation of a sculpture, Blood Mirror. Leo Herrera, activist and filmmaker, documented the process in an original, political art film, which is being released in advance of World Blood Donor Day (June 14), in honor of LGBT Pride month, and within the public comment period for the FDA’s proposed, updated policy. DONORS: Oliver Anene, Blue Bayer, Howard Grossman, M.D., Kelsey Louie, Lawrence D. Mass, M.D., Reverend John Moody, Loren Rice, Ty Spicha, CPT Anthony Woods