Did you know that even in today’s world you can not give blood if you “are a male who has had sexual contact with another male, even once.” Can you believe this, in today’s modern world homosexuals still can’t give blood. I understand that there is a high risk of
HIV/AIDS but not all homosexuals have HIV/AIDS, and there are plenty of not straight people who do have HIV/AIDS.
This topic came up because my school is having a blood drive in a few weeks and my friends and I were discussing whether or not we were going to give. One friend said she was underweight, one said she would give, I would but have been on medicine, and out of the country, and finally my another friend said he couldn’t because he was gay. I was like “what” I seriously thought he was joking, and that he couldn’t give because of travel, but no he was serious. Now it is not that he can’t actually give blood because he is gay, but that is basically why they are turning him away.
It is hard to understand why that in today’s society it is acceptable to be so openly discriminatory against a group of people. Now the rule isn’t specifically against gay men, if you are a virgin you can still give blood, but once you have sex you are no longer eligible to give.
Well I just thought I would share this information with you. I did not know about this rule, and I am sure many f you did not know about it either. It is a topic that I believe should be addressed, so feel free to respond.
The link below is where I got my quote from, check it out and see other reasons that you may not be able to give blood.
http://www.redcross.org/services/biomed/0,1082,0_557_,00.html#hiv
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And I believe they test every donation, so this is a silly rule. And if they don't test every donation (I don't really know if they do or not), that is even more silly, because you can't trust self-reporting.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
I agree, they really do need to test every donation otherwise you can't be sure if that person is lying, or they might not know if they have something wrong with them. I do know however that the HIV virus takes about six months to show itself, but then everyone would need to wait six months after having sex with a new partner, and get tested, before giving blood.
I obviously hadn't thought of that. I don't know how to get around that.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
Why not draw blood and then test it after 6 months?
Kind of cumbersome but....
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
...than 6 months, but this entire line of discussion rather significantly missed the point, I think. HIV is not unique to gay people, nor is it statistically prevalent enough to justify the blanket trashing of blood donations from all gay and lesbian donors. There is already a mandatory HIV test performed on every single pint of blood collected though official channels in this country, and there is no rational reason to toss out much needed blood because of scientifically baseless fears that gay people will infect the country's blood supply.
percivale
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Check out Progressive PRIDE, a Gay-Straight Alliance for the Progressive U community.
I defiantly agree that this is sort of a moot point in regards to the law in question. (Personally, I'd love a law that said atheists couldn't give blood. I hate it and then couldn't be guilted into doing it. lol)
But, since the subject came up...
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
Tattoos also disqualify you from donating.
p.
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Check out Progressive PRIDE, a Gay-Straight Alliance for the Progressive U community.
Same problem as giving blood.
Needles...
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
Only for 12 months, but if you inject drugs you can't give
I know this isn't much the point either, but they don't trash it from lesbians either, to my knowledge. It's only if you're a man who has had sex with another man since like 1977, or something.
I was almost prevented from donating, as I lived on a US military base in Europe in the 80's.
~C
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I don't think they test every donation. A person I know actually died because she contracted AIDS because the blood for her transfusion had AIDS.
“I hope the departure is joyful and I hope never to return.” - Frida Kahlo
Pubic hair is natural
What Happens to Every Blood Donation?
While the blood supply is safer than ever, the Red Cross has continued to make important advances in testing and processing.
Assuring the safety of the blood supply is a high-tech process requiring at least nine specific tests; proper processing, labeling, and storage; and vigilant quality control.
Routine donations are now tested for HIV and hepatitis C through nucleic acid testing (NAT), an investigational test that may reduce the "window period" — the time between a virus infecting the blood and the body forming antibodies that can be detected.
The Red Cross has also made progress in providing a universally leukoreduced blood supply (removal of contaminated white cells), with virtually all blood provided as leukoreduced products in 2001. This is important because leukocytes (white blood cells) may not be tolerated well when transfused with red blood cells.
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Check out Progressive PRIDE, a Gay-Straight Alliance for the Progressive U community.
I know I can always depend on you for good thorough info.
“I hope the departure is joyful and I hope never to return.” - Frida Kahlo
Pubic hair is natural
I do think that this rule is dumb. Of course, they ask really dumb questions anyways like, "Did your father ever have sex with a prostitute in the African jungle before the year 1977, AND was he under the age of 10?" Obviously I made this up, but the questions really are this ridiculous. I've given blood, but it would be quite easy to lie, and say you were a straight person/male, and give blood anyway. They do test the blood, because not everybody knows if they have something or not. Plus, they have to know the blood type, and they seperate it and all that good stuff.
It's hard to protest this, I mean, if you stop giving blood, then somebody might die because they needed your blood and you didn't give. I definitely think that if we all banded together, we could solve it.
~In order to have a better society, we need to CREATE a better society."
I understand completely why they would want to prevent infected blood donations. However, rather than trying to screen people who "might" have HIV/AIDS why are they not testing everyone first? I have never given blood (because I get all woozy) but I know they could not tell by asking me how healthy I am. Whether gay or straight, if you are only with one person I think your odds of being safe are the same just as a promiscuous straight person is just as likely to get an STD as a promiscuous homosexual person.
I've gotten blood before, and I've tried to donate. I can't- meds.
The policy started in 1983, at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. It did not start as a policy to discriminate. It was 1983... we didn't have good testing, and people didn't even really know how HIV spread. At the time, it was mainly men who had sex with other men that had been diagnosed with the disease.
The FDA's policy still states that any man who has had sex with another man since 1977 (virus was traced back to that time frame) cannot donate blood. Now that we do know how it spreads and we do have quick testing methods, there is no reason for that ban to still be in place. I think it is odd that no one is asked if they inject drugs, have several sexual partners, or have unprotected sex.
Even testing is 100% guaranteed, but all blood donated is tested for everything.
Last I heard, Red Cross and all other blood donation centers are trying to get rid of the ban, but it's up to the FDA.
-Sonja
Who really cares if a person is gay? This does not automatically mean that they have HIV or AIDS. If a person of the homosexual persuasion wants to give blood they should be able to. They could save another person's life.
test blood for things like that before they deem it usable? The one in my town will call you if they find it contains HIV/AIDS and even say don't give blood just to get checked for HIV.
Ridiculous, especially since all donated blood is tested for HIV anyway. There is no reason to forbid gay men from donating blood - especially since gay men might even be more likely to get tested for HIV and know if they have it.
Also, does it forbid anyone who has had sexual contact with another male? Or only people who've had anal sex? Because if it's just sexual contact, that's even MORE ridiculous - many forms of sexual contact between men carry little to no risk of transferring any STDs.
There's really no reason why your friend shouldn't donate blood though. He can simply lie.
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I'm pretty sure blood is no good after 6 months.
~In order to have a better society, we need to CREATE a better society."