Aaron Endre in San Franicsco Aaron Endre

Aaron Endre, 33, of San Francisco, has listed himself on Facebook "as a man interested in other men" in his profile. He follows news about queer issues, and he is regularly targeted with ads in his feed that indicate that both Facebook and Instagram are aware of his sexual orientation. Yet, Endre has been getting nudges on his Facebook feed to donate blood every few days, despite his efforts to mute them. "On Facebook's part, this seems tone deaf," said Endre, who works in public relations.

A screenshot of Endré's Facebook profile, reminding him to give blood Aaron Endre

For Endre, the ads serve as a painful reminder that he is not currently allowed to give blood, despite his desire to do so. He views it as a "travesty" from a public health perspective that Facebook would show him reminders, given the policies in many countries that prevent gay men from donating blood for three months, a year or even indefinitely following their last sexual encounter with another man. In about 20 countries around the world, men who have sex with other men are banned from giving blood altogether. Meanwhile, Facebook's Blood Donations feature was introduced by the company to users in India, Brazil and Bangladesh in 2017 as part of the company's Social Good team. The feature launched in the U.S. last month. With the feature, users can sign up to receive notifications whenever nearby blood donation centers need donors. Facebook partnered with America's Blood Centers, the American Red Cross and others for the tool, according to a company blog post in June.

Heated discussion

In 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration relaxed its lifetime ban on men who have sex with other men giving blood to a one-year deferral. The issue is still debated, as other countries, such as France, have relaxed their restrictions further still. Some believe they should be reconsidered altogether. As one Atlantic writer put it: "To place the same restrictions on monogamous gay couples as those placed on straight men who have unprotected sex with multiple partners, or intravenous drug users, is simply inexcusable policy." Mark Milleville, 29, of Oakland, said he saw two posts from Facebook encouraging him to donate blood in the past week. Milleville is gay, is listed as gay in his Facebook profile and said that Facebook's ad preferences tool has him listed as interested in topics including "LGBT community" and "Homosexuality." "I'm angry that donating blood is still an issue for men who have sex with men and that Facebook is rubbing it in my face," Milleville told CNBC. At least a dozen other gay and bisexual men have shared on social media that the Facebook blood donation feature is "offensive" or "insulting," and several have asked for Facebook not to target them with these reminders, according to a CNBC search. In Australia, some users were particularly surprised to find an ad featuring a gay couple and asking for blood donations. The ad ran on Facebook but isn't a Facebook ad. Tweet

'An unfortunate side effect'