After years of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood, the Food and Drug Administration recently announced it would soften its restriction to allow members of the male gay community to donate their blood — that is, as long as they’ve been celibate for at least a year. Actor Alan Cumming has taken a satirical stance on the amendment, heading a "Celibacy Challenge" campaign to back a petition asking the FDA to stop discriminating against potential donors and instead screen everyone for their individual HIV exposure risk, regardless of their sexual orientation.

Using an individual’s personal HIV risk exposure to decide whether or not they become a blood donor is not an outlandish request. The Washington Post reported that countries such as Italy and Spain have long used an individual risk assessment for would-be donors, rather than turning them down based solely on their sexual preference.

According to the FDA’s website, their ban on sexually active gay men from donating blood is based on their “increased risk for HIV, hepatitis B, and certain other infections that can be transmitted by transfusion” and is done to “assure the safety of patients receiving these life-saving products.”

Others feel the restriction is highly prejudiced and doesn’t take individual circumstances into account, such as monogamous couples who have already tested free from any disease.

“A ban of one year doesn’t really make sense, from a scientific or a medical perspective,” said Daniel Bruner, director of legal services at Whitman-Walker Health, a D.C. health care provider that caters to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender patients, as reported by The Washington Post. “It’s overly broad, in that you sweep in a lot of people who pose no risk whatsoever to the blood supply.”

The Celibacy Challenge is a social media campaign launched by GLADD, the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, and other LBGT organizations, Jezebel reported. If you would like to take part in this movement and sign the petition, click here.