Gay and bisexual men are now able to donate blood just like everybody else. The Food and Drug Administration released a plan Thursday to replace the stigmatizing restrictions that have restricted gay men from becoming blood donors with updated federal guidelines that focus on behavior and not sexual orientation.

The new guidelines will remove the rule requiring men who have sex with men to abstain from sex for three months prior to giving blood and create a new questionnaire to screen all potential donors for their HIV risk. Anyone reporting anal sex with a new partner in the last three months will have to wait to donate.

“This proposed policy change is based on the individual behavior of the prospective donor and not on their sexual orientation or gender,” Bloodworks Northwest said in a statement. “This means that ALL prospective donors will be asked the same risk-based questionnaire when signing up to give blood. While these changes may take months to implement, we look forward to swiftly implementing the new guidance and welcoming donors who have previously been deferred from blood donation.”

LGBTQ health groups and blood clinics like Bloodworks Northwest are praising the change. “Our community has been excluded for quite some time, so this is a big step in the right direction,” Luis Viquez, an HIV/STI tester at Gay City: Seattle’s LGBTQ Center on Capitol Hill told the Seattle Times.

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