A panel of experts convened by U.S. health regulators failed Wednesday to decide whether a lifetime ban should be lifted on gay men donating blood, following two days of heated deliberations.
The Food and Drug Administration, which takes into account the 17-member committee's suggestions, did not indicate when it would make a decision.
"The meeting provided valuable information and perspectives that will help inform the FDA's deliberations," spokeswoman Jennifer Rodriguez told AFP.
"The FDA's primary concern as we continue to review our blood donation policies will be assuring the continued safety of blood and blood products for the patients who receive these products."
The FDA does not have to follow the panel's advice but typically does.
Some panel members said they were hesitant to change the ban dating back to 1983, despite intense debate in recent years. Others said they favored easing it.
Opponents of the ban say it stigmatizes gays and dates to a time when the AIDS epidemic was spreading quickly in the gay community, sparking widespread fear about the deadly infection, which was then poorly understood.