being gay- giving blood

the red cross hosts a bloody drive every year Good Friday. I am a student at Petoskey Public high school, type AB+ and now openly gay, as of two weeks prior the exact date. with the support of my boyfriend of 8 months, i finally inspire the courage to admit it. with 8 draws, two of which on my proud new donor card, I park in the lot of the red cross building this April 18th.
The card sits readily in my pocket for me to show whoever Kiwanis has sent to volunteer. I type my name into the computer, tell the volunteer my appointment time and flash the card. This older man behind the sign in table has a smile on his face the whole time. he thanks me with a smile. he writes my name on a red sticker with the caption 'i make a difference' like he's giving me a metal of honor. He hands me the plastic pamphlet everyone must read before giving. I've gone over this same sheet several times, but until that day, i never gave any mind to the bullet point that finally applied to me. i was a 'male who has had sexual contact with another male, even once, since 1977.' I saw a text message from my boyfriend. He said he was just getting out of class at university. At the time, I wasn't afraid to tell the truth. So when it came time to put the sticker on my shirt, feel the elderly woman check my finger's hemoglobin and answer the questions, I felt that everything would be okay if i was honest. the outdated computer and i sat awkwardly waiting for the woman to arrive.
"You marked that you've had sexual intercourse with a man since 1977, is that correct?"
"It is."
"I'm going to have to deny your donation," she said leaving a long pause. "what happens now is that i need to write you a deferral. This means that you can't donate blood at the red cross again. I'm sorry about this."
She looked at me blankly and said "i can't do anything else, honey."
She handed me the slip of paper 'indefinite' and 'sexual intercourse with a male' circled on it.
My eyes couldn't help but water up. i thought about my mother giving every blood drive held at my elementary school with me beside her. She'd tell me she did the same with her mother. i remember all of the videos saying it gets better, as if i could have stopped this if I had enough wishful thinking. It was the first time I had felt truly different because I'm gay.

I regret not being adamant about the problem until it affected me. I see the problem and know I did the wrong thing not saying something earlier. I knew that the rule was unjust.
before that, i didn't feel any different from anybody else being gay. It FEELS like i shouldn't feel different from everybody else, but some people would disagree. I know there are people who will never know me even by a passing glance, but will still hate me for my predisposition. There are people like me who don't have the means to handle something like that. They don't have parents who accepted them or friends who supported them like i have.
I want to go to university so i can be in a position to make things right. I want to help anybody who's been hurt because of something they never had control of. If I was the elderly woman who gave me the indefinite deferral, I could have done something. If i was the politician voting on these regulations, i could have done something. If I can do anything to stop this feeling from happening to anybody else, I'd be okay with what happened.

The form sits in my closet. My donor card has long been eaten by the vacuum. I don't regret being the victim- I just wish I had known sooner what this means to so many people.