News
Blood Needed ‘but’ not from Gay Men!
I’ve never really thought about the ‘rules’ of giving blood till this story surfaced the other day. A young man in Gary, Indiana was REJECTED because he ‘appeared’ to be gay. Wow.. Talk about sterotyping someone. The young man swears he’s straight but is a bit effeminate. So, the big question here is WHY after so many years is the male gay population is still being targeted & rejected for donating blood due to their lifestyle choice?
This silly rule in question was inacted in 1983 by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) during the height of the AIDS Epidemic when testing for HIV+ individuals wasn’t avaliable. Ok, I can see it back then, but this is 20+ years later & the rule still stands? Why, I ask when there are numerous HIV tests on the market & donated blood is screened anyway. Why turn away someone who is willing to give much needed blood just because they are gay? Last time I gave blood, I was asked my lifestyle choice questions as well without thinking a thing about it… But for a gay male, should he ‘lie’ and say he’s straight just to give blood or be ‘honest’ and rejected, embarrassed and sent away feeling even worse? Amazing to me that no one has challanged this silly rule with a lawsuit years ago. It is outdated and needs to be eliminated from the questions asked. In our town we have blood drives due to the desperate low supply levels and they’ll take just about everyone ‘but’ a gay male. Seriously people, wake up, step up and demand a change. I’ll get off my soapbox now but think about it……Info on this story found at
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/man-says-rejected-blood-bank-seeming-gay-151627659.html
Tom Thayer
Tagged 1983, AIDS Response Effort Inc, ARE, blood banks, donated blood, donating blood, FDA, Gay men, HIV, HIV screening, HIV Testing, Indiana, sterotyping

