In the U.S., I gave blood to my local blood bank with one hitch: I had to be coded as female because I hadn't had bottom surgery yet. I was assured that after the surgery, I would be coded as male. Furthermore, I represented myself as a man who HADN'T had sex with other men; all of my sexual exploits were pre-transition, and I was living as a woman at the time. I was told that such a representation would be accurate after bottom surgery as long as my sexual history did not change.
Other trans men in my city donate blood. Some are out and some are not. So I'm not convinced that the Advocate article is accurate.