Wed, 01/16/2019 - 10:28 gkellett
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Jeanie Newcomb tests donated blood for AIDS antibodies at the Belle Bonfis Blood Bank in Denver, Colorado, on July 30, 1986.
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Bettmann Archive via Getty Images
2001

After the virus that caused AIDS was named, a test for HIV was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Three years after their initial refusal, the American Association of Blood Banks and the Red Cross finally began screening the country’s blood supply for HIV. Blood banks rejected gay donors, a policy that still informs who is eligible to give blood today.

Timeline Entry Prefix
May 1986