“It completely alienated me from the rest of my coworkers, and I felt like a different species,” says Yeznak, who has created a documentary on the topic. The National Gay Blood Drive began when gay rights activist Ryan James Yezak felt humiliated at work when he was one of the only people who could not donate blood to tornado victims three years ago. If the petition gets 100,000 signatures by July 30, the Obama administration will issue a response. The group also launched a White House Petition on July 1 calling on the FDA to change its policy.
