Until 2015, men who have had sex with another man weren’t allowed to donate blood – and there were still limits on their donations until last year, when the federal government lifted those.

For decades now, gay men have been barred from giving blood. In 2015, what had been a lifetime ban was loosened, such that gay men could be donors if they’d abstained from sex for at least a ...

Bloodworks Northwest, where Smith works as a donor services supervisor, adopted the change on Dec. 6. He and his partner gave blood for the first time the next day.