Do you believe it is unfair that gays/lesbians are prohibited from donating blood?
A recent article on the front page of my local newspaper drew attention to the fact that, in the area, the supply of donor blood was down to a mere 24 hour supply at best. I instantly felt the urge to go and help out only to be reminded by my friend that it is illegal for me to donate blood as a gay man. Now, I've been tested (and am constantly retested) for any potential problems and can provide sufficient documentation to that fact, but still it doesn't seem to matter. Yet I desperately want to help out...I feel morally obligated to tell the truth (the simple solution, of course, being to lie and say that I am straight), but I cannot bring myself to do that. I just want to be able to be myself and help out a deserving cause...
Since when is it legal to restrict an entire population based purely on massive generalizations? What could be done to change this system? Any and all thoughts and ideas are welcome.
Answers:
For donors to donate blood, they must meet many specifications to make sure the blood is not contaminated. For example, if you go on vacation into a country that has issues with malaria then you won't be able to donate blood. They do this to ensure the safety of the blood. One of the questions that they will ask you is about your sexual history. If they feel that your blood may be contaminated, then they will not accept you for donation. Not all blood centers are the same.
I know this because I used to organize and run blood drives in my local area and I am a donor. I am not a licensed nurse or donation center operator.
However, the donation center reserves the right to refuse any donor for any reason. I myself have been turned down a couple times, but I don't let that bother me. If I was in your situation, I would find the specific reason why you were rejected for donation. Otherwise, change donation centers.
I was banned from donating blood because I had lived in England in the previous 20 years. (I might have eaten beef.) The rules on blood banks go to extreme measures to ensure the safety of blood (and to lower the costs for testing donations), and they rank safety supreme, above fairness and equality.
Refusing blood from those who engage in behaviors that have a higher risk of contaminated blood than the general populace, such as IV drug users and British hamburger eaters, is preferable to letting everyone donate to let them feel good and causing harm to someone who receives that blood.
AIDS is not a massive generalization; it is a fact. It is also a fact that most infected folks are homosexual. I thank God that the health folks have some common sense.
You don't want straight men & women turning gay after blood tranfusion from you!? Do you now?
Gay men, not lesbians, are prevented from donating blood, as a group, because they are at a higher risk of infection by AIDS. There is a higher rate of morbidity of AIDS in those populations, in addition to pratices engaged in those populations which increase the chance of transmission and infection in those populations. The reason that gay men are denied is because the higher risk of HIV being present and the delay in the ability for tests to detect the virus (can be upwards of several months). As such, the whole population is excluded, much like anyone who has been out of the US in X years, been in jail for more then 48 hours, or have used drugs or have paid money or got money for sex.
The only change that makes sense, as it is people's lives that are affected by the blood supply, would be documentation that the gay man has not has any sexual contact with another man for the past several years before allowing him to donate.
It's all about percentages. Gays do in fact have a much higher rates of HIV then the general public. Not saying their life style is wrong, but that is a fact.
It happens, they are lots of people that can't donate blood, even if there is nothing wrong with them. The blood banks don't want to take the chance and have something slip through.
I applaud you for wanting to help out. Maybe you can call the blood bank and ask if there are other ways for you to help?
Yes, I do think it's fair. For the simple reason that being a gay man greatly increases your chances of contracting aids, which of course can be spread by blood transfusion. Even if you’ve been tested, and it shows you to be free of the disease, that’s no guarantee that you don’t have it, because it can take months before it shows up in the test.
I appreciate the fact that you want to help. Not enough people want to do that. But…it’s just too risky.
Is there really such a law? I've donated blood before and nobody at the donor centers ever asked me what my orientation is (which is straight, by the way). How could they enforce it, anyhow?
I didn't know it's illegal. If so, this fact sounds pretty irrational to me.
The answers post by the user, for information only, FreeLawAnswer.com does not guarantee the right.
Answer question:
More Law Questions and Answers: