Giving of yourself

Albert Soto, a Tucson actor and community activist who died Saturday, intended to donate his eyes and tissue after death, but both were rejected because he was gay.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has established guidelines allowing centers to reject donations from men who have had sex with men within the past five years, said Sara Pace Jones, a spokeswoman with the Donor Network of Arizona. [...]

The decision has outraged Soto’s family members. They are trying to rally the support of local elected officials to have the guidelines changed. (source)

I was considering at one time donating my organs when I die. I used to give blood as often as I could. Then, the American Red Cross stated that the blood of gay men would be refused. In fact, for the rest of my life, I cannot give blood. Now, it appears that the organs of gay men will also be refused.

I hear of people from time to time who are dying of leukemia or some such disease. Even though it is painful, I was willing to donate bone marrow for a stranger - if it could help. It honestly never occurred to me that I would be refused.

I suppose this is one of those things that does not merit my worry. It is beyond my control. But what if I am a tissue match for someone who is dying. What if I could have saved a life?

If the family knew that I could have saved their loved one, do you really think they would care that I am gay? It makes no sense to me, since all blood and all tissue is checked from everyone for defects and disease.

Such a strange world we live in.

This all reminds me of something that happened years ago now. There was a program called “Toys for Tots”. It was a programs where local businesses collected toys for needy children at Christmas. It was sponsored by the Marines. Just before Christmas, the Marines would go by each business, collect the boxes of toys, and distribute them to the children.

This from the archives....

Marines nearly refuse “Gay” Toys For Tots - Los Angeles: The Marines refused to send a few good men to a gay bar to pick up Christmas gifts collected in the Toys for Tots campaign, but a state legislator “did the logical thing” and delivered them to a collection center.

The Marines were asked to pick up the toys for 100 needy children collected at a party in a bar in North Hollywood. Bar owner and former Marine Mark Siefker had made prior arrangements for the pickup, but the Marines decided this week it would be “inappropriate for the Marines to go into a homosexual establishment.”

“I couldn’t believe it,” said state Sen. Alan Robbins, whose district includes the bar. “I’m kind of surprised that the Marines would not pick up the toys here. Who knows, maybe when I run again my slogan will be, ‘Alan Robbins will go where the Marines are afraid to go.’”
Source: THE WEEKLY NEWS, December 28, 1983