New York artist opens exhibition with real blood to draw attention to blood donation bans

New York artist Jordan Eagles has opened a new exhibition titled 'Bases Loaded', which uses real human blood to question gender, belonging, and a passion for baseball. The exhibition, open to visitors at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, translates the artist's personal reaction to the blood donation restrictions of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) into an artistic language. Eagles cannot donate blood because he uses PrEP (HIV prevention medication).

The artist's interest in this subject began when he came across a jersey that read 'Mets are in our blood'. A former fan of the New York Mets baseball team, Eagles blended this jersey's message with his own experience to draw attention to the blood donation stigmatization that gay men have long faced. The exhibition features 13 Mets jerseys smeared with the blood of an unsuppressible (treated) HIV-positive man.

Following years of bans in the US, the FDA eased blood donation restrictions targeting gay and bisexual men in 2023, starting to ask questions about sexual history. However, Eagles emphasizes that this survey is still biased regarding anal sex and HIV status, and that PrEP users can only donate if they stop taking the medication. The artist continues to question these policies and the social meaning of blood through his exhibitions at various institutions.