Federal ban on gay men's blood donation to be reconsidered

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"When Mark Shields started his job at the American Red Cross in Madison, Wisconsin, he rolled up his sleeve to give blood. It made sense. Part of his job was encouraging the public to donate and supporting the organization's lifesaving mission.

Before he could give, he was told that his blood could never be accepted. Because he's gay.

"I was 23 at the time. I was just coming out," he said. "I was trying to be part of our organization's mission and feeling like I can't do this. ... I certainly felt put on the spot. It was a bad feeling for a lot of reasons."

Under Food and Drug Administration rules, men who have had sex -- even once -- with another man since 1977 are not permitted to give blood. The rule was implemented in 1983, sparked by concerns that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, was tainting the blood supply. Screening tests to identify HIV-positive blood had not been developed. The policy was seen as a safety measure.

But today, with the availability of more accurate testing, activists, blood organizations and several U.S. senators say the lifetime ban is "medically and scientifically unwarranted" and are calling for change."

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[ccharles000]

1. k/r

[hlthe2b]

2. the ignorance of the expected RW response to this...

will be truly staggering... One can bet.

[Bluebear]

9. You won't have to go far from here, trust me.

[Divine Discontent]

12. HA! I love you BB! yes, so very true...

[RKP5637]

3. Oh, I keep forgetting, only Gay people can have HIV. Straight people do

not have HIV. How dumb of me yet again.

What an ignorant country.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Terra Alta]

5. it's about damn time

The ban should have been done away with as soon as screening for HIV was developed.

[Demstud]

6. Wow

Had no idea there was a ban. That's insane!

[alp227]

7. I'm a bit conflicted about this.

The article reports in a fair and balanced fashion:

Gay men, including those who are in monogamous relationships, are forbidden from contributing blood for the rest of their lives, while "a heterosexual who has had sex with a prostitute need only wait a year . That does not strike me as a sound scientific conclusion," Kerry wrote in a March 9 letter.

HOWEVER,

Health statistics show that men who have sex with men have a higher rate of diseases including HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B. Gay men who would be likely to donate have an HIV prevalence that is over 15 times higher than that of the general population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Yes, there are blood tests today, but I've heard that there are "false positives".

While I think the blanket ban is silly and causing all sorts of unnecessary bans from college campuses, I have a feeling that there is a shrivel of scientific backing for the ban. Hey, I'm not one of those "homosexuality is a choice" types because I know that sexual orientation has biological factors, but no doubt that gay sex does pose a risk for HIV. If anything maybe those pimps whom Kerry was talking about should be banned for life too.

[Bluebear]

8. 'but no doubt that gay sex does pose a risk for HIV' - so does straight sex, sorry

If the donated blood came back as "false positive", the blood would not be used.

[alphafemale]

11. Certain sexual acts carry a higher risk of transmission, especially unprotected

But otoh I've also known gay male couples where one had AIDS and the other was disease free because they were obviously very careful.

I don't even think that homosexual males are even the largest risk group, any more.

[nichomachus]

14. It is the act that poses risks

Not the sexual orientation of the person involved.

Women who have sex with drug users are at higher risk.

I had a cousin, a nice straight, middle-class woman, who was one of the first people to die of AIDS because her boyfriend at the time was (unknown to her) using injectable drugs. Another high-risk group is elderly women who are having unprotected sex with elderly men -- who have visited prostitutes. This is an entirely unreported side of the epidemic. These women think they are safe and become infected. It is tragic.

No person or group is immune from HIV and AIDS and the focus should be on screening -- not singling out one group.

[intheflow]

10. I hope something comes of this "reconsideration."

This is a stupid and biased policy that's been on books too long.

[nichomachus]

13. I have O-negative blood

O-negative is the "universal donor" and is very much needed. I used to donate as often as possible.

I have not been able to donate any blood in 27 years due to ignorance and homophobia.

[seabeyond]

15. about damn time. about the most offensive law on the books.

i really did not know this was still being enforced until about a year ago, brother in law telling me. mouth fell open. totally appalled. i could not believe it. i even checked on du to make sure.

this has got to go.