Honestly...If you needed blood, would you refuse it if the donor was gay?

[Cannikin]

This 'Banned for Life' article on MSNBC has me fuming a little...what are your thoughts?

Banned for life: Gay men still can’t donate blood

WASHINGTON - Gay men remain banned for life from donating blood, the government said Wednesday, leaving in place — for now — a 1983 prohibition meant to prevent the spread of HIV through transfusions.

The Food and Drug Administration reiterated its long-standing policy on its Web site Wednesday, more than a year after the Red Cross and two other blood groups criticized the policy as “medically and scientifically unwarranted.”

Before giving blood, all men are asked if they have had sex, even once, with another man since 1977. Those who say they have are permanently banned from donating. The FDA said those men are at increased risk of infection by HIV that can be transmitted to others by blood transfusion.

In March 2006, the Red Cross, the international blood association AABB and America’s Blood Centers proposed replacing the lifetime ban with a one-year deferral following male-to-male sexual contact. New and improved tests, which can detect HIV-positive donors within just 10 to 21 days of infection, make the lifetime ban unnecessary, the blood groups told the FDA.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18827137/

Be sure and vote in the poll. It's split down the middle.

[bicentennial_baby]

1. Of course not...

And that's why I won't donate...It's a principle issue. And people give me crap for it, but whatever, I have a common blood type, there's no shortage of mine going around. I'll wait until the Red Cross enters this millennium.

:hi:

[TommyO]

6. It's not the Red Cross, they were the ones who petitioned the FDA for the change.

It's nothing more then entrenched bigotry against gay people that is keeping this ban in effect. I'm a gay man, I have had sex since 1977, however I haven't engaged in anything which could infect me with HIV in the past year, I am HIV-. A non-descript female could have had unprotected sex with an HIV+ last Saturday night, become infected, yet still give blood tomorrow. Who is the higher risk to the blood supply?

[DS1]

2. It's ludicrous

Can't give blood on the battlefield.
Can't give blood where it's needed.

[LeftyMom]

3. The ban is anti-science moralizing bullshit.

And no, of course I wouldn't.

[Omphaloskepsis]

4. I wouldn't mind.

I can't donate because I have eaten beef in the UK.. Well, I could, but I would have to lie. I guess anyone could lie about anything.. It's not like they can check.

[SPKrazy]

5. Does that include Ireland?

:shrug:

I've had beef in Ireland

[cwydro]

8. I lived in Germany in 1996

and still am not allowed to give blood.

Mad cow thing. And I don't even know if I ate beef there, never was much of a red meat eater.

[SPKrazy]

10. i visited ireland in 1989

germany in 1986

ate beef i'm pretty sure in both places, but i'm fine :crazy:

:hi:

[cwydro]

12. YEah,

the ban that affects me is for people who lived or visited there after 95 or 96, when the mad cow thing started.

Pisses me off because I was a big blood donor, O positive, which is the universal donor too. Oh well.

[Parche]

15. Ireland

You cant give blood if you kissed the 'Blarney Stone' :rofl: :hi:

[SPKrazy]

17. i did kiss the blarney stone!

so i guess i've been contaminated with the gift of gab...
:rofl:

[Omphaloskepsis]

9. I'm not sure..

They asked about my travels. I told them I was in London in 1999 and 2003. They asked if I had eaten beef while there. I said yes and they told me that they couldn't accept anything from me.

[SPKrazy]

7. I'd be hell of a lot more worried if they were an IV drug user

no, I figure that the odds of blood donating being infected with HIV or other diseases is pretty low and that actually the chances of getting it from some other donor who doesn't consider themselves to be in a risk category might actually be higher.

So I'd take blood if I needed it. And blood from a gay person is the same color as any other blood and either the red cross is able to check for diseases in all blood or they aren't. I'm not really more worried about a gay person having a disease than a non gay person.

Like I said, the person who is doing IV drugs and donating blood, or even selling it? (don't know if that happens, I know plasma is sold) is much more frightening to me than any other possibility. I really don't want blood from the straight d00d who sleeps with as many women as he can-- or the woman who sleeps with as many men as she can-- and both don't practice safe sex.

It's a hard question and the bottom line is that honestly, I would have no qualms about accepting blood from a gay person, and probably if I needed it, from any person.

:shrug:

thought provoking question

:hi:

[S n o w b a l l]

11. No of course not....n/t

[SPKrazy]

13. hello engi!

:hi:


:hug:

[S n o w b a l l]

16. hello Southpaw!

:hug:

:hi:

[philosophie_en_rose]

14. only for reasons that I'd refuse blood from anyone.

i.e. the blood is tainted or the person has an infectious disease or something like that.

But refusing blood on the basis of sexual orientation is simply stupid. There needs to be a constant supply of blood. Anyone healthy should be applauded for a donation.

[Oeditpus Rex]

18. If the donor were gay

how would I know? :shrug:

[greatauntoftriplets]

19. No, it wouldn't bother me at all.

I also cannot be a blood donor because I have spent too much time in England and eaten lots of red meat there...even though mad cow wasn't active at the time.

And I voted no in the poll.

[sniffa]

20. maybe

but onLy if they weren't my bLood type.

[JackBeck]

21. This policy is so outdated.

Do you know how many times the donated blood is tested and retested? 8-9 times. And given that African-American women are disproportional more infected with HIV than other communities, should we therefore forbid that population to donate blood? Absolutely not.

This policy is homophobia at its best.

[terrya]

22. Yes, how nice...I have to lie to give blood.

Isn't THAT special? I am out to my family, to my friends, to my co-workers...but if I want to give blood, to do something that would perhaps benefit others...well, back in the closet for me!

There is NO fucking excuse that the FDA has endorsed. None whatsoever.

Thank you for this discussion, Cannikin.

[flvegan]

24. I'm sorry that you have to, but

I'm glad that you still do donate.

[flvegan]

23. Fuck no.

Two reasons:

1. Don't see how, if I'm in need, I could look the "gift horse in the mouth" so to speak;

2. I'd request it. I've found that I have a great deal of love and admiration for my gay brothers (since this is about men only, it seems) and I'd be nothing if not proud to have their blood in my system.

[ashling]

25. Now, if the donor was vegan ...

The anxiety at the thought I would suddenly have an urge for tofu .... its just to scary.

[idgiehkt]

26. also amazing

if the man has ever been with another man, he is considered 'gay' by these stats. And that means all the AIDS and HIV stats could be screwed up.

[bullwinkle428]

27. Bastards banned me for life because I received the HBV vaccine 10 years ago!

:mad:

I apologize for the minor threadjack, but it goes to their policies on who gets rejected and why.

The vaccine produces a false positive which indicates a potential presence of the disease, but there are separate measures which can easily be used to distinguish between those with vaccine and actual carriers. They don't want to bother with this, and are willing to let loads of people die - no love lost from me for the Red Cross!!!

http://www.healthyarkansas.com/services/hepatitis_factsheet_b.htm

[lizerdbits]

30. I was vaccinated about 10 years ago and I donate

I told them I was vaccinated and they didn't care. I know from doing some diagnostic kits on primates that are made for humans that there are several different kits available for Hep B. DiaSorin made kits for Hep B surface antigen, core antigen, (both sandwich ELISAs for the presence of antigen) and core antibody (testing for antibodies). Those are just the ones I used, I think they make others too so they should be able to determine that you have only antibodies from the vaccine and not viral antigen in your blood. Do the donor restrictions vary by state? The Red Cross in Maryland loves me because I'm O+ and CMV-. Strange that they banned you for life.

[bullwinkle428]

31. Thanks for the information on the test kits - would this be something

I could just ask my doctor about, and the kit would be available at the office? Regarding their "banning", I went to my file cabinet and got the letter they sent to me following the donation:

"On your recent blood donation to the Center, we found an abnormal test that requires we ask you to refrain from future donations. This test is called anti-core (anti-HB core) and is for an antibody that is made in response to infection with Hepatitis B virus of HBV. We are currently required to use this test by the federal government to prevent very rare cases of HBV infection following blood transfusion."

"...Because the federal FDA will recognize only our results, we are forced to ask you not to donate in the future regardless of results obtained in other laboratories."

[lizerdbits]

32. According to FDA website

2 brands of vaccine are recombinant proteins of surface antigen but you tested positive for antibodies to core antigen. You could have your doctor test you again since false positives can occur with any assay (I don't know if they test samples in duplicate or retest positive samples) but that probably won't fix your donation status. There also might be other companies who manufacture kits and some may be considered more accurate by medical professionals, I've just used one brand for primates. Also when I donate they ask a question about having recently received Hep B immune globulin which is given after potential exposure so if that occurred maybe that would cause a positive test? I don't know which antibodies are in the immune globulin given for that.

I am not a doctor but if your letter says that anti core antibodies are in response to infection you should ask your doctor about it.

[lost-in-nj]

28. Not any more

but my little brother died of AIDS in 1992
He had a blood transfusion from a drug addict.....
way before they started testing......

I know they test the blood now....
I would not hesitate


lost

[Nicole]

29. No

Blood is blood. If I need it I'm not going to refuse it.

I don't understand why anyone would refuse blood because they're're worried it might be infected? Wouldn't bleeding to death be more of a concern? :shrug:

[DU GrovelBot]

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