Although it announced an intention to update the policy in December of last year, the FDA’s current blood donation guidelines prohibit men who have had sex with men (MSM) at least once since 1977 from contributing to the blood supply. Even the updated policy – which is still being formulated – will likely ban MSMs who have been sexually active in the past year. Last year, the Williams Institute of the UCLA School of Law reported that lifting the ban completely could save up to a million lives annually.
Artist Jordan Eagles created Blood Mirror to call attention to this situation, and to inspire dialogue about what he calls “blood equality.” The work incorporates a pint of blood each from 9 gay, bisexual and transgender male donors; as the name implies, viewers can see themselves reflected back in the layers of blood and resin.
Rev. John Moody, a retired priest and staff member of Trinity Church, was one of the 9 donors for Blood Mirror. The work, which will displayed at Trinity Church in lower Manhattan until World AIDS Day, December 1, was previously on view at American University in Washington, D.C.
“The aim in bringing the exhibition up from Washington is to position the issue not only as a political one, but also as a deeply spiritual matter,” Eagles told New York magazine’s Daily Intelligencer.
Out Leadership’s Director of Quorum, Rick Little, has served as one of Eagles’ advisors on the project.