The lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men giving blood may be coming to an end. Federal health officials made the recommendation Tuesday and it's being met by mixed feelings here in Arizona and across the country.

The recommendation made by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is to replace the lifetime ban with one-year ban for men who had had sex with men. The American Red Cross agrees. In a press release, it says potential blood donors should be treated with “fairness, equality and respect.”

Trudy Thompson Rice is with the local chapter of the Red. She said science supports removing the ban.

"And the American Red Cross, along with other blood organizations, have recommended that the science be considered as a part of the FDA’s recommendations," she said.

But some gay rights groups said that requiring a year of abstinence before gay men can give blood is still unfair. Justin Owen is the Executive director of Phoenix Pride.

"It is still truly discrimination and not what we need for full equality and what we’re facing in the society right now," he said. "So, we are embracing it and excited that we’re making steps forward, but it’s still not where it needs to be yet."

The lifetime ban was instituted in 1983 in the early years of the AIDS crisis.