Calling a policy that bans gay men in the US from donating blood ‘a relic from decades past,’ the openly gay mayor of Campbell, California has launched a campaign to end it.

Evan Low was turned away at a local blood drive he had led in organizing because of the current policy of the Federal Drug Administration enacted in 1983 during the early days of the AIDS crisis.

‘It’s unfathomable to me as Mayor that I can host a blood drive in my community, but I can’t donate blood myself,’ Low said in a statement. ‘It’s time to end this blanket ban on gay male blood donations, and show the rest of the world that FDA policy should be based on science and not 30-year-old fears.’

Low has launched a Change.org petition that so far has garnered more than 18,000 signatures.

‘Following historic wins for openly gay servicemembers, striking down DOMA and Prop 8, and ending discrimination against gay Scouts, this is the next step in the LGBT equality movement, and a step the FDA should take if its interest is in keeping the blood supply healthy and saving lives throughout the country,’ he stated.

When the FDA policy on blood donations was enacted, there were no reliable tests to screen blood for the disease.

Canada ended its lifetime ban on gay men donating blood earlier this summer following similar moves by the United Kingdom, Argentina, Australia, Sweden and many other countries.

The American Medical Association, the American Association of Blood Banks, and the American Red Cross have all called on the FDA to review the lifetime ban on gay men donating blood.

In addition, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren recently sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who oversees the FDA, calling for an end to the ban. Her letter was signed by more than 80 members of the US Congress.