France announced it will loosen its ban on gay and bisexual men giving blood, Agence France-Presse reports.

Under the new measure, men who have sex with men (MSM) who have been have been abstinent for 12 months will be allowed to donate whole blood (consisting of red cells, plasma and platelets), and those who have been monogamous or celibate for four months will be allowed to donate plasma.

In 2017, the ban may be further relaxed if experts determine that the new policy has not increased the risk of tainting the blood supply.

French rights groups and AIDS activists claim the new policy still discriminates against gay men because no such requirements exist for heterosexual blood donors.

“Once again, the focus is on a specific population group rather than on high-risk behavior—in essence, a stigmatization of homosexuals,” said Jean-Lux Romero, a gay rights advocate.

France is sensitive to the topic of blood donations because hundreds of people died in the 1980s after receiving HIV-positive blood from the national transfusion center; plus, the blood was exported, leading to even more deaths.

Earlier this year, the European Union’s top court ruled that governments can ban gay men from donating blood if they can prove it is the best way to protect the blood supply from HIV.

In the United States, regulators earlier this year suggested a similar measure—allowing MSM to donate blood, but only if they’ve been celibate for one year.

According to news article, similar waiting periods exist in Australia, Britain, Japan and Sweden.

And click here to see “Blood Mirror,” a U.S. artwork made with human blood and created as a protest against the current ban against gay men donating blood.