In 1983, during the early days of the AIDS epidemic, the US Food and Drug Administration made the decision to ban gay men from donating blood. Now, 40 years later, it is dropping that rule.
Life-saving blood is needed for everything from treating cancers and chronic conditions to helping trauma victims. But blood donations have dropped to crisis levels during the pandemic.
Affirmative action programs at universities are under threat by the Trump administration. That could be especially damaging to medical education. Who knows who holds the idea for the next great cure?