Urgent blood donations are needed in Minneapolis, but screw you

if you're a wonderful, compassionate gay male who wants to help.

The FDA bans gay people since our blood has a greater risk of being tainted than straight people like Republican Senator Vitter of Louisiana who likes having anonymous sex with hookers.

The government would rather allow a victim in desperate need of relatively rare O negative blood to die on the operating table in Minneapolis than accept my healthy O negative blood.

I think this story is once again noteworthy in wake of the bridge collapse in Minnesota.

I hope the Democratic majority I helped vote into office will take action at some point.


http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/23/fda-blood/

FDA Reiterates Ban On Gay Men Donating Blood, Despite Red Cross Objections


"...last year, the Red Cross, the international blood association AABB, and America’s Blood Centers all called on the FDA to reverse the ban. They explained that such “window period” risks have been negated by modern blood tests, which “can detect HIV-positive donors within just 10 to 21 days of infection.” To ensure such risks were minimized further, their proposal included a “one-year deferral following male-to-male sexual contact.”

In many parts of the country, blood supplies are critically short. More information about donating blood is available HERE.


on edit: grammar

and like you I am a healthy gay male. I lie and give blood but I wish I could be honest. It burns me up that one can have sex with a prostitute and give blood a year later but I can't despite being abstinent for the last several years and knowing I don't have AIDS.

He and his partner have been together for over 15 years, and are both faithful. They are both kind, caring, and compassionate people. I don't know what his blood type is, but I'm sure any type is put to good use. Sadly, I don't have the O- that is so needed. Mine is AB-, and I can only give to my own blood type.

:cry:

Everything is just so screwed up in this country.

I assume that's what the poster was referring to ...

years of testing now to know that the tests work- FDA should listen to them.

like they didn't screw this up to begin with.

And sometimes that's all a person has .... a heartbeat.

Speaking of hearts, yours is clearly in the right place. This whole ban on your blood is just more of the vilification of minorities in our country. More of the sanctioned hatred fomented by the cabal.

:hug:

Because I had Hepatitis 38 years ago.

I have not (with the exception of food poisoning) been ill in 35 years. And my blood is clean as a whistle.

But I have had sex with scores if not hundreds of women in that time (I didn't keep score and cannot remember most of their names - if I ever knew their names at all).

But the FDA doesn't give a shit about that.

Got Hepatitis in '95. Still can't donate.

And that bothers me, because I regularly gave blood. I had almost 30 donations.

They have very strong restrictions. Some overboard, no argument there...

Meanwhile, the FDA closes 7 labs during a time when they're needed more than ever.

When my first son was born 21 years ago, the nurse had such a hard time finding my vein that I still have scars.
I got ruled out because I don't have a note from the hospital stating that they gave me the scars, and they ruled me 'high risk' like I was a junkie or something. Pissed me off. still does. :(

not as rare as o neg but usually in demand. I can't donate cause I lived in England for more than 6 months...during some period. I swear I never ate any British Beef...but it didn't make any difference. This isn't the same as the stupidity and the outright offensiveness of banning blood donations from gay males...at least gay males can be checked for HIV...I can't be checked for mad cow.

I'm double-jinxed!

I'm vegan. I'm at about as much risk for mad cow as I am for prostate cancer. So it doesn't surprise me that the rules are frequently stupid. But the one that forbids healthy gay men from donating, while a straight guy could screw a whole bar full of sketchy women and donate the next day, is stupider than most.

A woman can sleep with a woman and ten men the night before. A straight man can sleep with a dozen women the night before. They can all donate. A gay man...nope. What complete horse shit.

Gay males cannot be forced into the military to go to war and you don't have to give blood. You just cannot be made happy. <snark>

lol

:kick:

I always feel like I need to apologise for the profound ignorance of some straight people. Maybe , just maybe it wont always be like this .

seems to get longer everytime I drop by the blood bank.

me I can't give blood either because I was on too many medications. Why don't they just rank the blood and put mine on the bottom tier..to be used only when all the "good blood" runs out? I always feel guilty when I see blood drives now.

because of a flare up in my periodontol problems. I've been on it long enough that passing any nasty periodontal germs along is not an issue (no blood donations for 2 weeks after root plaining and it's been almost a month for me). But, they can't take the risk that someone whose allergic to the drug I'm on might get my blood. It's also possible that the medications you're on might not mix with something the receiver of your blood is getting.

As frustrating as it can be, I'm glad they're careful even if they do go overboard at times.

because there is no blood. Maybe they always say the blood bank is on the verge of zero just to get people motivated to give.

So many reasons why people can't donate:

Tatoos
Vaccines
Once had a specific disease

It just seems like they should be able to find most of this stuff with tastes. The ban on homosexuals seems especially stupid because everyone can engage in risky sexual practices.

They question everyone about their sexual behavior now so I don't know why they're willing to take a heterosexual's word that s/he has been careful, but not a Gay's.

I forget the exact questions, but they exclude as donors people who have taken or paid money for sex, had sex with people who have taken or paid money for sex, people who have had sex with IV drug users, and several other categories. I don't know enough about the statistical data to remark on the exclusion of people who have had homosexual sex. But some people write as if that were the only sexually excluded class. It isn't. Senator Vitter would definitely be excluded from donation.

...in history class at University. In the early decades of blood transfusions, they prohibited "cross-race" blood donations. If a person was black, they could only give and recieve from other blacks for example. Thankfully, that bigotry came to an end once people learned that such craziness was supported by neither medicine nor scientific data.

I pray (yes, I literally pray for it) that soon Americans will come to see discrimination and bigotry towards GLBT and genderqueer individuals is just as wrong. I am sorry that you had to experience such rejection.

Hopefully, as you stated so well, the Democrats will take action.

-- Peace and Blessings my friend.

PS - I have a question... can you donate bone marrow? What if you wanted to give a kidney to someone? Is that affected by the same strictures?

That aside, the ban on donations from homosexual men is fucking reprehensible. Does this regulation also apply to homosexual women, or just the "fags who all got the AIDS"?

:sarcasm:

Seriously, what kind of fucked up situation exists when perfectly good blood is refused because of one's sexual orientation?

All I know is blood banks are always in need of O neg.

http://www.rexhealth.com/centers/blood/facts.htm

Most Common Blood Types
Approximate distribution of blood types in the U.S. population are as follows:
O positive - 38%
O negative - 7%
A positive - 34%
A negative - 6%
B positive - 9%
B negative - 2%
AB positive - 3%
AB negative - 1%

I have rolling and exploding veins, so even a routine blood draw at the doctor's office is fraught with peril.

It seems to me that any healthy adult that wants to donate should be able to, especially when there's a disaster of this seeming magnitude.

Julie

scary.

And yes, you would think.

that's why it is so valuable (I am O neg/longtime donor)

The blood bank calls here all the time. From what I understand the need for O negative blood is because its used for premie babies.

I'm also a gay o negger...

But I'm also a diabetic and had two heart attacks, so that's why I can't give anymore...

So, their rule is saying "We know all gay people have 'tainted' blood, so we're not going to use ANY of it."

Fuck those bastards! :grr:

They won't let me donate blood because I have high blood pressure (on meds) and a fast heart rate. So I'm always hoping that there is some generous soul giving more in my stead, and here you are and they won't take your blood! (I'm A+ so mine is rather common).

Apparently, that is why they have this ban in place. It doesn't make much sense, considering that straight people can engage in anal sex as well, but I guess they're just playing the odds on this one. It sounds like homophobic nonsense, to me.

I have been trying to donate for the last 2 years and have always been rebuffed for some reason or another: had been bleed on (in a wrestling match) in the past 6months, was on antibiotics, was in contact with blood...etc. It has annoyed me to no end, but i think it is reasonable, the last thing they want is to make someone who requires a blood transfusion worse, and although they screen it their is not 100% accurate test. And they are trying their best to play the odds and lower the likelihood of giving a recipent a disease for just HIV/AIDS alone they ban people from entire country's and a host of people that:

* have ever used needles to take drugs, steroids, or anything not prescribed by your doctor
* are a male who has had sexual contact with another male, even once, since 1977
* have ever taken money, drugs or other payment for sex since 1977
* have had sexual contact in the past 12 months with anyone described above
* received clotting factor concentrates for a bleeding disorder such as hemophilia
* were born in, or lived in, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea,Gabon, Niger, or Nigeria, since 1977.
* since 1977, received a blood transfusion or medical treatment with a blood product in any of these countries, or
* had sex with anyone who, since 1977, was born in or lived in any of these countries. Learn more about HIV Group O, and the specific African countries where it is found.

Also, you being 'bleed on' during a wrestling match would not preclude you donating.

The specific rule was that i had come into contact with someone else's blood in the past 6 months, and i had. The rule does not discrminate against gays but only men that have anal sex with other men, so by your assertion that not all gays have anal sex (which seems reasonable) then they would not be barred from donating, infact if they had had anal sex before, but not since, 1977 they would not be barred from donating, this does not seem to be done because of discrimination, if it was they must really not like cameroonians, but to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, who would want to be responsible someone getting aids just because they required a transfusion? They are playing it safe and that seems reasonable.

And the reason the gay blood ban is ridiculous is check out what the person in post #1 wrote.

You can easily lie.

So you tell me how this system is logical.

It's a restriction born out of the AIDS hysteria from more than two decades ago when the current testing abilities were not available.

This is an outdated policy that is completely homophobic.

It is so offensive, and so are the arguments from people like you.

I've donated almost 25 gallons of blood products - I'm always asked if I have slept with a male who has slept with a male, but I am NOT asked if I myself practice unsafe sex on a regular basis.....it is discrimination

males are vulnerable to aids or might practice unsafe sex? Stupid, stupid, stupid.