The History of the Pride Alliance Blood Drive

What began as a single community blood drive has grown into one of Blood is Blood's signature initiatives and the nation's longest-running LGBTQ+ Pride-related blood drive. Founded by Jordan James, the blood drive was created to unite the LGBTQ+ community, allies, and supporters around a shared mission: advocating for an end to the decades-long federal blood donation policy that restricted many gay and bisexual men from donating, while promoting blood donation and encouraging all eligible individuals to help save lives.

The first Gay Alliance Blood Drive was held in July 2016 in response to FDA blood donation policies that restricted many gay and bisexual men from donating. The drive united the LGBTQ+ community and its allies to advocate for individual, risk-based donor eligibility policies, ensuring every eligible person is evaluated based on their individual risk rather than sexual orientation.

As community support continued to grow, Blood is Blood expanded the initiative by adding a second annual blood drive on December 15, 2021, establishing a semiannual campaign that provides more opportunities for lifesaving blood donations while raising awareness about blood donation and advocating for individual, risk-based donor eligibility policies.

In December 2023, the Gay Alliance Blood Drive was officially renamed the Pride Alliance Blood Drive. The new name reflects the diversity of today's LGBTQ+ community while honoring the event's history and reaffirming its commitment to inclusion, community engagement, and equal opportunity for all eligible blood donors.

Today, the Pride Alliance Blood Drives continue to bring together donors, volunteers, community partners, and advocates to help strengthen the blood supply, inspire lifesaving donations, and advance Blood is Blood's mission of ensuring every eligible individual has the opportunity to save lives through blood donation.

Inaugural Gay Alliance Blood Drive

In the summer of 2016, Blood is Blood partnered with the American Red Cross of Western New York to host the region's first inclusive LGBTQIA+ community blood drive. The inaugural event welcomed 53 donors, resulting in blood donations that helped save up to 159 lives while demonstrating the LGBTQ+ community's commitment to strengthening the blood supply.

2nd Annual Gay Alliance Blood Drive

In 2017, Blood is Blood once again partnered with the American Red Cross of Western New York to host their second annual blood drive in the region. A total of 36 donors participated, collectively ensuring the preservation of up to 108 lives through their contributions.

3rd Annual Gay Alliance Blood Drive

In 2018, Blood is Blood collaborated once again with the American Red Cross of Western New York to host their third annual blood drive in the region., resulting in the successful collection of blood donations from 40 donors, which ultimately helped save up to 120 lives.

4th Annual Gay Alliance Blood Drive

In 2019, Blood is Blood once again partnered with the American Red Cross of Western New York to host its annual community blood drive.

A total of 25 donors participated, resulting in blood donations that helped save up to 75 lives.

5th Annual Gay Alliance Blood Drive

In 2020, Blood is Blood once again partnered with the American Red Cross of Western New York to host its annual community blood drive. A total of 31 donors participated, resulting in blood donations that helped save up to 93 lives.

6th Annual Gay Alliance Blood Drive

In 2021, Blood is Blood partnered with the American Red Cross of Western New York to host its annual community blood drive, resulting in the successful collection of 42 units of lifesaving blood, helping save up to 126 lives.

First Semi-Annual Gay Alliance Blood Drive

In December 2021, Blood is Blood partnered with the American Red Cross of Western New York to host its first winter community blood drive. Co-sponsored by Good Deeds Buffalo, the event marked the beginning of the organization's semiannual blood drive campaign, providing additional opportunities for lifesaving blood donations and community engagement. Niagara Pride joined the event to provide outreach, educational materials, and information about LGBTQ+ community resources. The drive resulted in the successful collection of 55 units of lifesaving blood, helping save up to 165 lives.

7th Annual Gay Alliance Blood Drive

In the summer of 2022, Blood is Blood hosted its annual summer community blood drive in partnership with the American Red Cross of Western New York.. Co-sponsored by Good Deeds Buffalo. The event resulted in the successful collection of 35 units of blood, helping save up to 105 lives.

2nd Semi-Annual Gay Alliance Blood Drive

In December 2022, Blood is Blood once again partnered with the American Red Cross of Western New York to host its semiannual winter community blood drive. Co-sponsored by Good Deeds Buffalo, The drive resulted in the successful collection of 39 units of lifesaving blood, helping save up to 117 lives.

3rd Semi-Annual Pride Alliance Blood Drive

In December 2023, Blood is Blood officially renamed the Gay Alliance Blood Drive to the Pride Alliance Blood Drive, reflecting a more inclusive name that better represents the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community. Co-sponsored by the Imperial Court of Buffalo and held in partnership with the American Red Cross of Western New York, the event resulted in the successful collection of 48 units of blood, helping save up to 144 lives.

8th Annual Gay Alliance Blood Drive

In the summer of 2023, Blood is Blood once again partnered with the American Red Cross of Western New York to host its annual Gay Alliance Blood Drive. The event resulted in the successful collection of 36 units of blood, which ultimately helped save up to 108 lives.

9th Annual Pride Alliance Blood Drive

In the summer of 2024, Blood is Blood once again partnered with the American Red Cross of Western New York to host its annual Pride Alliance Blood Drive. The event was co-sponsored by the Imperial Court of Buffalo, continuing a shared commitment to promoting blood donation, raising awareness, and strengthening the blood supply. The event resulted in the successful collection of 40 units of blood, which ultimately helped save up to 120 lives.

4th Semi-Annual Pride Alliance Blood Drive

In December 2024, Blood is Blood once again partnered with the American Red Cross of Western New York to host its semiannual winter Pride Alliance Blood Drive, the event resulted in the successful collection of 43 units of blood, which ultimately helped save up to 129 lives.

5th Semi-Annual Pride Alliance Blood Drive

In December 2025, Blood is Blood once again partnered with the American Red Cross of Western New York to host its semiannual winter Pride Alliance Blood Drive. Co-sponsored by the Rainbow Collective of Western New York, the event resulted in the successful collection of 30 units of blood, which ultimately helped save up to 90 lives.

10th Annual Pride Alliance Blood Drive

In the summer of 2025, Blood is Blood once again partnered with the American Red Cross of Western New York to host its annual Pride Alliance Blood Drive. Co-sponsored by the Rainbow Collective of Western New York, the event resulted in blood donations from 36 donors, which ultimately helped save up to 108 lives.

11th Annual Pride Alliance Blood Drive

In the summer of 2026, Blood is Blood once again partnered with the American Red Cross of Western New York to host its annual Pride Alliance Blood Drive. Co-sponsored by the Rainbow Collective of Western New York, with cookies generously provided by Brooke's Bakery, the event resulted in the successful collection of 28 units of blood, which ultimately helped save up to 84 lives.

A Collection of Photographs from the Pride Alliance Blood Drive Through the Years

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Pride Alliance Blood Drive History Key Points

October 19, 2015 – Blood is Blood was founded by Jordan James after he was unable to donate blood under the FDA's lifetime blood donation deferral for many men who have sex with men (MSM). The organization was established to advocate for science-based, individual, risk-based donor eligibility policies while encouraging blood donation.
December 14, 2015 – Blood is Blood held its first Community Rally for Equality in Blood Donation, bringing together community members, advocates, elected officials, healthcare partners, and supporters to call for evidence-based blood donation policies. The rally marked the organization's first major public advocacy event.
December 21, 2015 – The FDA revised its guidance, replacing the lifetime MSM blood donation deferral with a 12-month deferral. Blood is Blood continued advocating for further modernization of donor eligibility policies based on individual risk rather than sexual orientation.
July 2016 – The first Gay Alliance Blood Drive was held in partnership with the American Red Cross of Western New York, launching what would become Blood is Blood's signature community blood drive initiative.
2016–2020 – The annual Gay Alliance Blood Drive continued to grow each year, bringing together the LGBTQ+ community, allies, and supporters while Blood is Blood continued advocating for additional reforms to blood donor eligibility policies.
April 2020 – The FDA reduced the MSM donor deferral period from 12 months to 3 months. Blood is Blood welcomed the change while continuing to advocate for an individual, risk-based screening process for all donors.
December 15, 2021 – Blood is Blood introduced a second annual community blood drive in partnership with the American Red Cross of Western New York, establishing a semiannual blood drive campaign to provide additional opportunities for lifesaving blood donations, policy awareness, community engagement, and public education. The event was co-sponsored by Good Deeds Buffalo, with Niagara Pride participating through community outreach, resource sharing and support.
2022 – Both the annual summer and winter blood drives continued, further expanding Blood is Blood's outreach and impact throughout Western New York while supporting continued progress toward equitable blood donation policies.
May 2023 – The FDA implemented an individual, risk-based donor eligibility assessment, replacing the previous time-based MSM deferral. Blood is Blood recognized this as a historic milestone toward more equitable blood donation policies while continuing its mission of education, advocacy, and encouraging blood donation.
December 2023 – The Gay Alliance Blood Drive was officially renamed the Pride Alliance Blood Drive, reflecting a more inclusive name that better represents today's LGBTQ+ community while honoring the event's history.
Dec 2023 & June 2024 The Imperial Court of Buffalo became a co-sponsor of the Pride Alliance Blood Drive, strengthening community partnerships and expanding support for the initiative.
2025 – Today - The Rainbow Collective of Western New York became a co-sponsor of the Pride Alliance Blood Drive, continuing the tradition of collaboration to promote blood donation and equality.

Since 2016 – The Pride Alliance Blood Drives have collected hundreds of blood donations, helping save an estimated 1,851+ lives while advancing Blood is Blood's mission of ensuring every eligible individual has an equal opportunity to donate blood and help save lives—regardless of sexual orientation, race, color, creed, gender, or background.

Work in Progress: We're currently gathering and verifying historical photos, event information, and blood drive results from past Pride Alliance Blood Drives. As we uncover additional verified records and community contributions, this page will continue to grow. Thank you for helping us preserve the history of this important initiative.