ATU Images/Getty Images(NEW YORK) For at least a decade, Chris Van Bibber had been prevented from donating blood.
The 35-year-old from Salt Lake City, Utah who is openly gay was restricted due to rules set in place by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that did not allow sexually active gay men from donating.
However, this past May, the FDA dropped all restrictions specific to gay and bisexual men donating blood, moving to a new blood donation risk assessment tool that is the same for every donor regardless of how they identify, which rolled out in August.
This meant that Van Bibber was able to make history as he donated blood at the American Red Cross Blood Donation Center in his home city.
"To sit back in that chair and to go through the questionnaire beforehand, and it was just I felt so much excitement and so much relief that we were finally here," Van Bibber told ABC News. "I just felt like I was finally able to do my part and it s a small thing
France
United-kingdom
Greece
Salt-lake-city
Utah
United-states
Netherlands
Van-bibber
Ayako-miyashita-ochoa
Chris-van-bibber
Miyashita-ochoa
Luskin-school-of-public-affairs
ATU Images/Getty Images(NEW YORK) For at least a decade, Chris Van Bibber had been prevented from donating blood.
The 35-year-old from Salt Lake City, Utah who is openly gay was restricted due to rules set in place by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that did not allow sexually active gay men from donating.
However, this past May, the FDA dropped all restrictions specific to gay and bisexual men donating blood, moving to a new blood donation risk assessment tool that is the same for every donor regardless of how they identify, which rolled out in August.
This meant that Van Bibber was able to make history as he donated blood at the American Red Cross Blood Donation Center in his home city.
"To sit back in that chair and to go through the questionnaire beforehand, and it was just I felt so much excitement and so much relief that we were finally here," Van Bibber told ABC News. "I just felt like I was finally able to do my part and it s a small thing
Netherlands
France
Greece
Utah
United-states
Salt-lake-city
United-kingdom
Van-bibber
Miyashita-ochoa
Ayako-miyashita-ochoa
Chris-van-bibber
American-red-cross-blood-donation-center
ATU Images/Getty Images(NEW YORK) For at least a decade, Chris Van Bibber had been prevented from donating blood.
The 35-year-old from Salt Lake City, Utah who is openly gay was restricted due to rules set in place by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that did not allow sexually active gay men from donating.
However, this past May, the FDA dropped all restrictions specific to gay and bisexual men donating blood, moving to a new blood donation risk assessment tool that is the same for every donor regardless of how they identify, which rolled out in August.
This meant that Van Bibber was able to make history as he donated blood at the American Red Cross Blood Donation Center in his home city.
"To sit back in that chair and to go through the questionnaire beforehand, and it was just I felt so much excitement and so much relief that we were finally here," Van Bibber told ABC News. "I just felt like I was finally able to do my part and it s a small thing
United-kingdom
Netherlands
Salt-lake-city
Utah
United-states
Greece
France
Miyashita-ochoa
Ayako-miyashita-ochoa
Van-bibber
Chris-van-bibber
Luskin-school-of-public-affairs