Even while America has a shortage of blood donors, a sizable percentage of the population is barred from donating blood -- gay men.

"If you're a man who has had sex with another man even once since 1977, you are not allowed to donate blood," Steve Robles notes. "The ban was instituted during the height of the '80s AIDS outbreak, before proper testing existed that could screen out infected blood.

"But despite the leaps and bounds that have been accomplished in testing blood for HIV/AIDS, the Bush administration still doesn't think the blood of gay males is good enough."

One California college had to ban blood drives because the campus isn't allowed to host organizations which discriminate. Their county government is pushing lift the ban locally, but it will then conflict with the national policy of the FDA.

There's a chance the FDA will change the policy this month, and one health worker says it's a change that's long overdue.

"They're ready to give blood, and it's very frustrating that we can't use it."