The gay blood ban enacted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is scheduled to be reviewed by the agency’s advisors. There will be a meeting on December 2 to discuss the possible lifting of the 30-year-old policy that prohibits gay men from donating blood, Fox News reported.

“We've got the ball rolling. I feel like this is a tide-turning vote,” remarked Ryan James, an LGBT activist who founded the National Gay Blood Drive and who will share his sentiments to the Blood Products Advisory Committee, reported The Hill. “There’s been a lot of feet dragging and I think they’re realizing it now.”

The ban to keep gay men from donating blood was put into effect in 1983 during the national AIDS epidemic. It was last updated in 1992. According to Fox News, the advisory committee will hear scientific data and an update from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on blood and tissue safety, the FDA website noted.

Richard Dedor, an author and speaker who is gay, spoke to The Hill about his experience in trying to donate bone marrow about 18 months ago to help a family friend.

“As he was filling out the form, he was shocked when he read a question asking if he had had sex with men.”

“‘I sat there for a second and thought, should I be honest, or should I lie?’ he recalled.”

“He said he decided to answer the question honestly, and realized then that he would get involved in the fight to strike down the ban.”

‘“Others in my exact same situation do lie because they believe so vehemently that they have the right — forget the right, the ability — to keep the blood supply and the bone marrow supply safe,’ he said. ‘We have the ability to help save lives.’”

The Washington Post reported that the move toward a revise U.S. policy has been gaining steam for years, as medical groups, academics and even politicians have increasingly spoken in favor of lifting the ban.