Some New York lawmakers are calling for an end to a federal ban on blood donations by gay men.

U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner said today that overturning the prohibition could save lives at times when the city’s blood supplies run low.

The Food and Drug Administration prohibits men who have sex with men from donating blood, regardless of their HIV status. The ban was put in place in 1983. Weiner says it was implemented amid ignorance of how the virus is transmitted.

The Democrat says the policy doesn’t make blood any safer.

On Thursday a group of 18 U.S. senators called for changes in the law, including New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand.